What Wise Men Don’t Know
by mimire
Summary: At the most inopportune moment in his life, Naruto meets the woman of his dreams. Not long after, he meets the man of his dreams too. Strange, he never even realized he had one. Did love – and life – always have to be so complicated? AU. sasunarusaku.
1. Prologue

**Title:** What Wise Men Don't Know  
**Warnings: **yaoi, het, angst, drama, romance, language  
**Summary: **At the most inopportune moment in his life, Naruto meets the woman of his dreams. Not long after, he meets the man of his dreams too. (Strange… He never even realized he had one.) Did love – and life – always have to be so complicated?_  
_**Disclaimer: **Naruto isn't mine.

* * *

Prologue  
_A fool comes rushing in_

* * *

Naruto stared at the computer screen, feeling his stomach drop to a point he previously thought physically impossible. His heart almost stopped. For a moment, it was all he could do - just sit there and stare in disbelief at the screen. Taking in a shaky breath, his heart resumed a loud, fast-paced beat that throbbed in his ears. With wide eyes, he pressed the refresh button, feeling the faint trace of irritation that managed to pass through his panic when the screen prompted him to log in again.

With shaking fingers, he typed in his username and password, following the links to view his grades for the fall semester with growing trepidation. There was no way it had been a mistake. They couldn't make mistakes like this, could they? No, he knew it wasn't a mistake. And there, at the last click, was proof that it had not just been a trick of his eyes.

He failed. He failed all his classes.

He was blissfully blank for a moment at what that meant for his future but, as always, the momentary reprieve from his worries remained just that – fleeting and so very unsatisfying. Realization crashed down on him and he let his hands drop to his knees as if the very weight of it rendered his muscles useless. He was doomed. Completely, irrevocably, undeniably doomed.

"Holy shit," he said, disbelieving and wide-eyed. "Holy..."

He jumped to his feet, holding his head in his hands as he paced – paused to vehemently deny reality – paced again when he realized he couldn't – paused to hit his head with angry fists – stopped because it hurt. He froze, stopping entirely when the enormity of the situation truly hit him full force. He wasn't just completely, irrevocably, undeniably doomed; he was fucked. He was so very fucked.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my fucking, fucking god."

He turned again to stare at his final grades as they had been submitted, skimming down to the GPA. Less than a 1.0. He stared at it as he'd stared at the letter grades, disbelieving and entirely unconvinced he could have pulled such low marks. How did one get less than a 1.0? How did one literally fail all their classes? Even if, technically speaking, he hadn't failed all – if half was even remotely better than all four. The B and D he had received in the other two courses did nothing for him.

Naruto wanted to cry, suddenly feeling completely worthless. There was nothing he could do – the school would kick him out and there was nothing he could do. And it was all his fault.

Even if he'd worked hard in the beginning, he couldn't deny he'd begun to slack off in the end. If only he had sacrificed one more hour to study for that one class, he wouldn't have failed the midterm. If only he had handed in the last three assignments in the other class on time. If only he hadn't skipped classes to sleep in when exhaustion kicked in. Hindsight was a bitch. He didn't want it unless it could serve a purpose in the present, unless it could have prevented this very situation.

Letting out a bitter laugh, he collapsed heavily onto his bed, dropping his head in his hands. All he had needed to do was pass one more class and he would have been okay. All he needed was a fucking 1.0.

He raised his head at the sound of a key turning in the lock, watching quietly as his roommate walked into their shared university apartment. The newcomer didn't acknowledge Naruto's slumped figure, completely oblivious to the aura of depression suffocating the cramped space, and instead stomped snow from his boots and shook remaining flecks of it from his hair and jacket.

"Fuck," he said, removing his coat to hang it on the rack behind the front door. "It's fucking freezing outside."

He started to walk through the kitchen when he finally glanced at his friend, immediately noticing the dejected slope of his shoulders and desperate look on his face. The transformation was almost instantaneous – Naruto watched as the expressive face flashed from surprise to confusion to overwhelming worry in a split second.

"Hey!" the concern was evident even in his voice as he moved towards Naruto's share of the small apartment. "Is everything okay?"

For a moment, Naruto only stared at him, in the same way he'd stared at the computer screen – it really seemed the only thing he could do without failing, he thought sullenly – but this time he only felt guilt and shame. There was no longer any disbelief.

"Kiba."

His friend waited attentively for him to continue, standing at the foot of the bed with one hand resting on the bedpost and the other fidgeting with the edge of the pocket on his jeans.

"Kiba," Naruto tried again, falling onto his back on the bed. "I don't think I'm graduating this year."

Naruto missed the confused look that flickered across Kiba's face at the statement, made with resolute acceptance. The confusion was conveyed clearly through his voice. "What do you mean? Why aren't you graduating this year?"

Naruto laughed at the question. Exactly – why was he not graduating this year? He was supposed to only have a semester left after this last one. The answer was simple.

"Because I'm a fucking idiot." At Kiba's slight grunt of confusion, he continued, realizing he had to be honest with at least his friends. There was no one else he could share the news with and disappoint. "Because I'm a fucking idiot, and I fucking failed all my classes."

Naruto counted four seconds before Kiba's loud shout rang out in their shared home. "What?"

Straightening from his position on the bed, Naruto motioned for Kiba to come closer and turned the laptop towards him. He didn't watch as Kiba leaned down to view the screen. After a moment, his friend managed a comment.

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, that's what I said," Naruto smiled without humor.

Kiba took the mouse, clicking away from the screen and pulling up Naruto's transcript to view his overall GPA. He grimaced - a meager 2.31. But it wasn't as if he himself was any better – no better to be able to judge, anyway.

"Geez, Naruto, this is… Are you sure you're going to be suspended? I mean, your overall GPA is still passing. Can't you contest these things?"

"And say what? 'Uh, yeah, I was totally dicking around when I should've been studying for my finals so please give me another chance'? Yeah, right." He sighed at his own anger. "Besides, I knew I wasn't going to do well. I mean, I didn't think I was going to fail everything. Just that one class. I thought the other classes would make up for it."

Kiba stood there thoughtfully, gazing at the screen. He knew how Naruto felt; he'd only just managed to pull himself from academic probation this semester. After all, a person couldn't run from the crowd they ran with. Or, birds of a feather flock together. Even - you are who your friends are. Clichés were surprisingly adept at describing situations, he thought.

"Maybe you should email your professors? Ask them what went wrong. Maybe they'll change the grades if you talk to them?"

Naruto didn't bother hiding the bitterness in his voice, "As if they'd go out of their way for me. They're all a bunch of assholes."

True to his words, after learning he was only one percent away from a passing grade, he received the email that resigned him to his fate.

* * *

**Date: **Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:48:07**  
From: **Touji Mizuki (mizuki.t…  
**To: **Naruto Uzumaki (uzumaki.n…  
**Subject:** Re: history 310

_Naruto,_

_I understand your concern with being placed on Academic Suspension.  
However, I feel that it would be most beneficial for you to resume schooling  
after you have had a chance to reflect on your poor performance during the  
semester. It would likely serve as a learning experience. Many students  
reconsider college as their best option, realizing instead they are not suited for  
the heavily academic environment. You should take this period to organize your  
priorities and decide what you can do with your life._

_All the best,_

_Mizuki_

* * *

"'All the best,' my ass. You're happy to see me go, you stupid fucker," he scoffed at the insincere concern in the words, recognizing the concealed insults – "Don't come back. Losers like you will never succeed."

Mizuki had never liked him. Asking him for help and expecting him to be impartial had been a mistake. He deleted the email from his inbox with a vicious click, and then deleted it permanently from his trash in spite. The petty action did nothing to make him feel better. If anything, it only made him feel worse.

"Fuck you, anyway. I'll show you. I'll show you who the real loser is."

With fierce determination, Naruto Uzumaki, supposed graduate-to-be, began his one year of academic suspension. Had he known his only consolation during the time would come in the form of further stress – two distinct forms of it, actually: a pink-haired faux bimbo and a nauseatingly handsome bastard – he would have resolutely argued to stay enrolled until the end of the school year. Or simply ended his life then and there.

Unfortunately, while hindsight could be all knowing in such situations, it truly was a bitch: one had to live through hell just to see it.

**TBC **

* * *

**Notes:  
**As always, please forgive any errors - I admit I rushed this. Just wanted to get the idea out of my head before I gave up on it. Not much happened so far, I know. I'm slow, so the buildup to romance might be a little slow too, but I promise it will really come to a head. Anyway, all comments welcomed and appreciated. : )

Happy new year!

_Edit: 9/9/2011_


	2. Chapter 1

**Previously: **Naruto gets kicked out of school after failing a semester. After attempting to appeal to an unsympathetic professor, he resolutely begins his period of suspension.**  
**

* * *

Chapter One  
_Beauty and an annoying Beast_

* * *

There was a rattling sound coming from by his head, startling Naruto from a dream he forgot immediately. Trying to cling to his sleep, he stuck out a hand to blindly grope for the source of the vibrations, striking the object to the floor once he found it. When the sound persisted, he poked his head wearily from the cover of his blankets and leaned over the side of the bed to scan the ground.

He stared at the object with contempt, watching with sleep-filled eyes as it vibrated mockingly along the floor. He couldn't even tell what time it was – and therefore couldn't gauge how angry he should feel at being awake – without his phone, which just so happened to be the irritating vibrating thing on the floor.

He snaked an arm from the warm cocoon he'd created in his sleep and made a grab for the device, irritated that it was just far enough beyond his reach that he had to brace his other arm against the floor and pull the upper half of his body completely from the blanket just to have the tips of his fingers barely graze against it.

After several prods and angry huffs and grunts, he finally managed to nudge it close enough to snatch it from the ground. He pulled his body into a sitting position and flipped the cover to stare at the screen. A clock danced merrily about with the word "Alarm!" waving above. With a growl Naruto dismissed the alarm and blinked the sleep from his eyes so he could concentrate on the time, written in tiny font in the corner of the screen.

"Ugh," he groaned and pressed a hand over his eyes: it was legitimate-time-to-be-pissed-at-being-awake o'clock. "What the hell."

He didn't even need to be awake then, so why was his alarm even on? He rolled onto his side, pulling the covers completely over his face to hide from the morning sun. He fully intended to fall back asleep but once awake, he had trouble ignoring the fact that it was practically broad daylight outside. No matter how much he burrowed his head into the darkness or how tightly he squeezed his eyes, simply knowing the sun was there amplified the brightness visible through his covers. With an angry cry, he flipped the blanket away from him.

"God damn, mother fucking piece of shit phone!" he screamed.

He grabbed the source of his irritation from the night table and threw it across the room, knowing he'd regret the action as soon as it left the safety of his fingers. True to his expectations, it struck the wall with a barely satisfying crack before clattering to the floor. One piece flew indiscriminately off to the right while another flew to the left, leaving one large chunk to fall between the two.

He slapped a hand to his forehead before crawling resignedly from the bed to retrieve the scattered pieces. The door to his room opened as he was trying to stab the antenna back into the gaping hole in the back of his phone. He didn't bother looking up from his task when he heard Kiba laugh slightly.

"Rough morning?"

At the one-fingered salute he received in reply, Kiba only laughed more. "Well, glad you're in such high spirits so early in the day. Anyway, I'm heading out to class now. Oh, and don't forget - Hinata's coming tonight."

Naruto grunted in acknowledgement, meaning it as a farewell and knowing Kiba understood. While filled with an indescribable abundance of energy during the day and well into the night, it was well noted that Naruto was not a morning person. No matter the time he went to bed, he would wake up in the same manner every morning. If there was one blessing to this attitude, it was that he woke fairly quickly, unlike Kiba, for whom the semi-awake state usually lasted well into (and sometimes long after) his morning classes.

Finally giving up on the pieces in his hand, he tossed the smaller ones to the side and flipped his phone open. Of course there was no reception; he supposed that was what the antenna had been for, after all.

He ran a hand through his hair roughly, letting out a sigh at the thought of having to buy a new phone. He was relatively low on funds already, despite splitting the rent with Kiba. University living had been decidedly cheaper when their apartment had just been a part of tuition and he could get by on financial aid. But since his suspension, he'd been forced to find another place to live.

Kiba had graciously offered to move with him to cut back on costs despite knowing it would be considerably more expensive for him. He hadn't let Naruto reject the offer. At the simple gesture of kindness, Naruto couldn't ignore the overwhelming affection he felt for the other. And, of course, with the affection came a healthy dose of guilt as well.

While a social person by nature, Naruto didn't deny that he was, admittedly, more than a little socially awkward. He strove hard to make friends, but those he could consider something more than mere acquaintances were far and few. With his background, he knew he was lucky to have just those few and made sure to treat them like they were his most precious possessions.

The last thing Naruto wanted was for Kiba to pay for his mistakes, no matter how grateful he was for the other doing so. In the end, Naruto promised, quietly, fiercely, to himself that he would become the best at whatever it was he did. He would repay Kiba's generosity tenfold, he told his friend, and prove to both himself and the world that rejected him that he was a worthy individual.

And so he immediately enrolled in a community college not far from his original university. The conditions for his readmission into the school that suspended him demanded that he pass at least one semester full-time at another institution. However, he decided it would be best to continue schooling for the entire year he was suspended. What else could he do other than work? He was already halfway into the first term and doing exceptionally better than he'd ever done in the past – never mind the fact his past record was nothing to brag about.

Naruto rose from his seat on the bed and stretched his tired muscles. He'd had a long night catching up on schoolwork and preparing for an exam at the end of the week. He needed all the time he could get, in between working two jobs and going to school full-time.

Thinking about it, it wasn't so bad, this life he'd suddenly been thrust into. He enjoyed interacting with others, even if they didn't always reciprocate his feelings. As a waiter, he was able to meet a variety of people on a daily basis. The restaurant where he worked was expensive, but nothing extravagant. Which was, he assumed, the reason he was able to land the job. He didn't think they'd hire him otherwise.

That was more than fine with him. Once he was done with his school, he would no longer need to work such low-end jobs.

On his way to the kitchen, Naruto chuckled with glee at the thought of finally getting to shove in everyone's face their less than favorable opinions of him. That would be his greatest achievement, and he'd laugh it all off once they all realized it.

His stomach growled to life just as he pulled set his bowl and a box of cereal on the table. Patting the demanding part of his body in consolation, he opened the fridge and reached for the milk carton, only to find it felt suspiciously light. Holding it upside down over his bowl only confirmed his suspicions: empty.

"Gah!" he cried, flinging the carton aside in irritation. Exactly what sort of asshole put empty containers back into the fridge for the next (innocently) hungry guy searching for food? Only the biggest kind, Naruto thought unforgivingly. A second look into the fridge revealed no other cartons of milk. Looked like a trip to the grocery store was in order.

* * *

Naruto grumbled all the way to the nearest grocery store, stomping his feet and digging his hands deep into his pockets. Had he been paying attention to where he was walking, he would have noticed the people around him darting to the side as he walked by, no doubt thinking he was another homeless, schizophrenic bum.

As it were, his irritation consumed him. Not only had his now defunct phone woken him up without cause, he had been forced to put his breakfast on hold for a way too early in the morning trip to the store for a food product he didn't even like.

The rock that entered his line of sight hadn't done anything wrong, he knew, but he nevertheless kicked it with as much force as he could muster. "Fuck milk, anyway!" He screamed as it flew a considerable distance away and landed just beyond the corner of a building. When the echo from his shout quieted down, he finally noticed the many pairs of eyes that were warily watching his every move.

"Eh, heh heh," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck in mortification. "I… uh…" He made a great show of looking at his nonexistent watch. "Oh, look at the time!"

He started to make a quick getaway just as a pair of women rounded the corner. So deeply immersed in their obviously frivolous conversation, neither noticed the rock that suddenly presented itself before them. He watched with morbid fascination as one high-heel clad foot came down on the rock in slow motion.

At the unexpected change in the terrain the woman's foot slid to the side, ankle bending at an uncomfortable angle, and in the instant she realized she was losing her balance her eyes widened and her mouth opened into a surprised "Oh!" as she started to fall – a face that was identically mirrored by her friend at the same time she realized the other was going down. Despite flailing her arms and a desperate attempt to grab her friend's body for support, the woman fell back, landing heavily on her ass with a surprised cry of pain.

In retrospect, Naruto knew he shouldn't have laughed. It actually wasn't even that funny, if he took the time to think about it. But at that moment, having freshly watched both heavily made-up faces mirror each other in surprise and feeling a sadistic sort of satisfaction that someone else's morning wasn't exactly perfect either, the laughter bubbled out from his throat in hearty guffaws.

He clutched his sides as he let out his frustration in the form of laughter. Almost doubling over in his mirth, he completely missed the offended looks on the two women as others rushed to their aid, throwing the crazy laughing stranger looks of disgust.

"Are you alright?" Naruto heard someone ask.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." He could practically feel the glare sent in his direction.

He tried to hold down his laughter and only when he managed to restrain it to a few snickers here and there did he look towards the woman whose fall he had second-handedly caused. She was glaring right at him, fierce green eyes narrowed in anger and embarrassment. Her friend brushed dirt from her side and the girl – not really a woman, he realized, as she couldn't be any older than him – made her way towards him. The click of her heels as she neared him was almost ominous.

Great, now he had to deal with conflict. He schooled his expression into one of innocence – he'd had years of practice from his life as a prankster – and waited for her to reach him.

The girl tossed glossy pink hair over her shoulder with a huff of irritation. Up close, her eyes were a lot prettier, he noticed. They would probably still be pretty without all the make-up, but at the moment, they were narrowed into small slits of anger. Despite her very visible rage, she had the regal sort of look only achieved by those of upper-class women, of someone who rarely had to deal with scum like him or embarrassing situations such as these.

"You think this is funny?" Her tone of voice was surprisingly less lady-like than her appearance as she gestured to a tear in her pricey-looking skirt.

"No! Not at all!" he denied, waving his hands in front of him as if it would authenticate his denial. But hadn't he been laughing just a second ago? Of course he found it funny. "I wasn't laughing at you. It was, uh, I just had a really funny thought right then!" The excuse sounded stupid even to his own ears. Going by the look on the girl's face, she didn't seem to buy it either.

Just as she opened her mouth to rip into him, her friend grabbed her arm, giving Naruto a glare in the process. The way she looked him up and down told him everything he needed to know of her opinion of him.

"Just let it go, Sakura. He's not worth our time."

The girl – Sakura – looked hesitant to let the matter go, no doubt wanting to give Naruto a piece of her mind, but she finally nodded her head, giving him the same look as her friend. "You're right," she agreed. "He's not worth anything, let alone my time. Let's go."

With one final haughty toss of her hair, she turned away abruptly, nose high in the air, and the two brushed past him without another glance.

Naruto watched them go, irritation slowly coming to a head at the way they treated him. Of course, he should have realized an easy out when he saw one, but when told he was always slow on the uptake, Naruto had never been able to convince anyone otherwise.

"What do you mean, 'not worth your time'?" he yelled after their retreating figures, pointing accusatorily at the one with pink hair. "Is your time more special than mine or something? Well, sorry for taking up your 'precious' time, but it's not my fault you looked like a complete retard falling on your ass, Pinky!"

He regretted the words the instant they left his mouth. But not to be outdone by his own stupidity, his frustration easily took control of his features and kept up the antagonistic front, eyes narrowed and mouth set into a challenging grin at the way the girl's back stiffened at his taunt. She turned slowly, looking at him in bewilderment.

"'Pinky'? Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"Yeah, Pin-ky," he enunciated the syllables carefully. "Like a big, ugly, deaf person who walks around in stilts. Maybe you should learn to walk before putting those on."

Her eyes widened at his offensive words, mouth falling open in surprise. He wasn't quite sure why he was acting so rude either. She didn't deserve it; he'd been the one to make her fall, after all.

"Excuse me?" Even her tone was one of disbelief. But the look quickly faded away and, as if finally coming to her senses, the girl straightened, all surprise leaving her body. She thrust her purse at her friend. "Hold this, Ino," she ordered as she began rolling up her sleeves.

"Sakura, maybe you shouldn't – "

But the girl was already advancing on him, eyes glinting dangerously. For once, Naruto was quick to realize he was in deep shit; he couldn't hit a girl! So he did the only thing he could in the situation while still preserving his manly dignity: He turned tail and ran, ignoring the outraged cry behind him.

He didn't stop until he had reached a safe distance a few blocks away, bending over to catch his breath. He hoped no one ever found out he'd just tried to pick a fight with a dainty, harmless little lady. That he'd just run from. God, he just ran away from a girl. Kiba better never find out about this – he'd never live it down.

He angrily smacked his forehead and then repeated the process several times. If only it would knock some sense into him. He ignored the looks he was once again on the receiving end. If they thought he was crazy too, he didn't care enough to make them think otherwise.

He wandered into the grocery store minutes later, body shivering from the sudden drop in temperature as the air conditioner blasted unnecessarily high within. Although he wasn't planning on buying much, he grabbed a basket on his way in.

His trip in the market ended without fault if he didn't count the lady in front of him trying to pay for her purchase in mostly spare change. When she finally had the right amount, he made sure to let her know exactly what he thought of her on her way out and then proceeded to do the exact same thing when he realized he'd left his wallet back at the apartment. He wisely ignored the customer behind him that swore under his breath as he dug through his pockets to count enough change for one carton of milk.

It was to a breath of fresh air that he finally walked out of the grocery store. With the sun shining happily and promising a bright sunny day that contradicted his mood, Naruto made his way back to his apartment for his now late brunch. By the time he reached home, it was already lunch time, leaving him with no other option but to have ramen instead of cereal. In effect, his morning excursion had been a complete waste of his morning.

Damn Kiba.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he threw his pencil down and rubbed his strained eyes. He'd decided to try and get some homework done, seeing as he didn't really have anything better to do until he went to work, but he'd been trying to read the same sentence for what felt like hours.

He turned in his chair to crack his back, eyes gracing the clock on the microwave before he picked his pencil back up. It was 4:00pm; he'd only been working for a few hours.

He returned to his highly entertaining reading, trying to get past the first sentence. "'Zone refinement required a germanium oxide reductor,' great, like I know what that is, 'a highly controlled furnace,' huh, okay, 'and an extremely precise slicing'…" he trailed off when a thought occurred to him. "Wait…"

He turned back to the clock, squinting his eyes to clear the image of the analog numbers. Yes, it was 4:01pm. Not an unusual time, but why exactly did that feel wrong?

He returned again to his book, realizing that he couldn't possibly be running late for his shift at the restaurant. His phone was supposed to go off to let him know. His phone that was currently missing an antenna and therefore had no reception. His phone that, without reception, couldn't tell time… His phone that, without time, had no working alarm clock. His phone, which… wait… fuck.

"Fuck!" Naruto jumped from the kitchen table, knocking his chair to the floor. "Fuck!"

He ran into his room to grab his waiter's uniform before dashing back to the kitchen to pick up his phone, screaming at it to try and calm his nerves. "Why? Why are you doing this to me today?"

It didn't answer, so he threw it against the wall again. Great, he was going to be late.

He ran all fifteen blocks to the restaurant, running into countless pedestrians who howled after him in rage. He thought he might even have knocked down an elderly woman, but he couldn't be sure when he was already ten steps past when the fact registered in his mind.

He burst in through the back door, barely able to suck in shaking breaths.

"Naruto!"

He jumped at the sound of his name, turning towards the person who had shouted at him. Of course, of all the people to catch him coming in late, it was his perverted, creepy supervisor, decked out in his usual matrix style gear: all black attire and superfluous sunglasses.

"Naruto! You're fifteen minutes late! Get changed and get your ass out there this instant."

"Yes, sir!" he mock saluted before rushing to change into his uniform. His heart rate had slowed considerably by the time he made his way out into the dining area to relieve the waiter before him from his shift.

"Just in time, Naruto," the boy said as he passed Naruto a menu. "There's someone waiting at table six."

Naruto smiled his thanks. The kid was always extra nice to him for some reason. He didn't know why, but he wasn't going to complain. As he made his way to table six with a friendly smile on his face, he saw that there was indeed someone waiting. Someone with pink hair.

He didn't think pink hair was all that common, but hoping against hope, he continued forward, stopping at the table and catching the lady's attention. "Good evening, miss. I'll be your waiter for the evening."

Green eyes turned to look up at him from the table, recognition clearly crossing over her face. Naruto kept the grin frozen on his face, knowing he couldn't say anything to her if she chose to yell at him. Foregoing any further introductions, he instead asked if she wanted a drink while she pondered her order. He was surprised when she only smiled thinly, nodding slightly before saying in a polite but distant voice, "I'll just have a glass of white wine."

Naruto nodded, as he placed the menu down before her. He wouldn't be expecting any raving reviews from this table tonight. "I'll be back shortly to get your order."

He swore his heart was audible to the entire restaurant as he left to get her drink. He breathed a sigh of relief the second he was out of the patrons' sight.

"Come on, Naruto! You can do this!" he encouraged himself. "You're going to get through this night without any problems!"

He gave himself a mental pat on the back when he returned with her drink and nothing came to pass. Instead, he waited for her dinner partner to show as he attended to his other assigned tables.

He'd already taken a few orders and delivered the meals when he returned to her table, noting that she was glancing at her watch every now and then. When he came to stand by her she straightened immediately, removing all worry from her face as she looked at him disinterestedly. Fighting his instinct to react to the expression, Naruto smiled politely, "Would you like to order a few appetizers while you wait?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

A good half-hour passed before he got the distinct impression she was being stood up. He was almost surprised at the fact. She had obviously taken her time preparing for dinner, if her immaculate attire and make-up suggested anything. In fact, she looked beautiful.

When her phone rang and she scrambled for her purse in anticipation, he made it a point to stand somewhat close by. Her face lit up when she saw the name on the screen and there was a slight smile on her face as she answered.

"Hello?" The hope in her voice was so obvious even Naruto couldn't miss it. But it fell immediately, just like her smile, in the next instant as she listened to the words on the other side of the line. "Oh. I see. No, I wasn't waiting long. No, no. I understand. Yes. I'll see you later, then. Goodbye."

Naruto watched as she closed the phone dejectedly, suddenly feeling sorry for her. He knew how it felt to be left behind or forgotten. As she let out a sigh and put the phone away he decided to make his entrance.

"Are you ready to order, miss?" he asked, pretending he hadn't been eavesdropping on her conversation.

She looked at him and for the first time that night it wasn't filled with disdain, only a clear sense of loneliness and rejection. She shook her head no and asked for her check.

"Don't worry about it. It's on the house," he smiled a winning smile, wanting her to be able to leave with some dignity in tact. He knew he wasn't authorized to give the drink for free, but he would risk it because he was nice like that. Maybe if she realized not everyone in the world was a complete asshole, she might lighten up on the bitchiness too.

She turned to him in surprise then, question clear on her face, but before she could open her mouth he interrupted her line of thought. "Really, I can't let a lady pay for her drink. That's what the man is supposed to do."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Why? Are you intending to pay for it?" She pulled her wallet out and held out a card. "I'll pay for the drink."

Naruto pushed her hand down. "No, really. It's on the house."

They stared at each other silently, each willing the other to give in until finally the girl sighed in resignation and put her card away. He reached down to collect her still full glass, pausing before he turned away.

"Listen," he said cautiously. "My shift's over in a few minutes. I have some time to kill before I have to pick up a friend from the airport. If, I don't know, if you're up for it, I know some place we could, uh, get something to eat? If you want to, that is."

Awkward silence. The girl just stared at him, as if unable to comprehend the language he had just spoken. He wouldn't put it past her, unable to understand the audacity of one lowly waiter let alone one who hadn't exactly made a good first impression.

When a solid minute passed and she hadn't said a word, he stuttered out an excuse. "Uh, yeah. I mean, I'm sorry. That was really rude of me. I don't normally do that. Actually, I don't know why I did it now and, haha, I totally understand how you feel, because, yeah, it's pretty creepy – we don't even know each other, after all. So, just. Yeah. Have a good evening, miss."

Naruto stopped before he went on even longer, bowed stiffly, and then took off for the back of the restaurant, knowing his face was flushed a bright crimson. He couldn't believe he'd just done that. Of course she would decline. Who was he kidding? She had been stood up, yes, but that obviously meant she had been waiting for someone. Someone she had been clearly disappointed in being unable to see. Fuck, he hoped she wouldn't complain about him.

Shaking his head to clear his away his thoughts and embarrassment, Naruto slapped his cheeks lightly. "Just keep smiling. Pretend you didn't say anything!"

With that thought, Naruto made his way back to the girl's table, ready to clear it for the next customer and was surprised to see her still seated. "Oh, you're still here. I'm sorry, I didn't give you enough time." A voice stopped him mid-step as he began to walk away.

"Wait!"

He turned to look at the girl, not really understanding the light blush on her cheeks as she coughed demurely into her hand.

"I… Is that offer still open?"

Naruto stared, dumbfounded, "Offer?"

"For dinner."

"Dinner?"

If anything, the blush on her face only deepened and unexpectedly, her fist struck the table heavily. "Yes, dinner. Or do you not remember the invitation you stumbled through oh so eloquently just moments ago?"

At her embarrassment, the light in Naruto's head suddenly lit up and he flushed deeply at his stupidity. "Oh!" he finally said with understanding. "Oh! I, uh, yeah! Of course. L-let me just get changed. I'll meet you at the front?"

At her nod, hair falling to cover still glowing red cheeks, Naruto turned to walk to the back. He couldn't believe she had accepted. Suddenly he wasn't so sure about the destination he'd had in mind. Ichiraku Ramen was great for businessmen on their way home from a late night at work, but for a proper and primly dressed lady of the high-class sort?

Waving to his coworkers on the way out, he nervously made his way to the front of the restaurant where the girl was waiting for him. He stopped when he reached her, grinning widely as he scratched the back of his neck.

"So," he started. "I hope this doesn't turn out to be really awkward."

She smiled at him. "I hope not."

"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." He stuck out a hand for her to take. She took it tentatively.

"Sakura… Haruno."

Naruto pretended he didn't notice the hesitation before she said her last name. She was, after all, about to go out for a meal with a complete stranger. He understood her caution. He didn't understand how girls could stand being picked up by random guys anyway, thankful that he was a guy himself.

Deciding he couldn't make a worse impression, he took her to his favorite ramen stand anyway, even going so far as to pull out her stool for her to sit on, to which she giggled sweetly.

Sakura, he found out, was a lot nicer than outside appearances lead him to believe and not nearly as judgmental as she at first seemed. His opinion of her was rising steadily – until she cuffed him roughly on the back of his head.

"Ow! What the hell?" He yelled, forgetting his manners in the moment of pain. "What the fuck did you do that for?"

"Is that how you're supposed to speak around a lady? Anyway, that was for laughing at me earlier today. Don't think I forgot." She smirked as he rubbed his head gingerly.

"Lady? Who's a lady here? As far as I know, ladies are supposed to be all quiet and proper and keep their hands to themselves. You're practically a man."

He should've stopped while he was ahead, before the smirk on Sakura's face became strained and her eye twitched at his words.

"A… man…?"

He finally paused in his rambling at her tone of voice, grinning sheepishly when he noticed the look on her face. He immediately clapped his hands together and bowed in a stance of forgiveness. "I'm sorry! Please don't hit me with your manly fists again!"

She would have hit him again if the owner of the stand hadn't turned to them and politely asked her to take it easy on his customer. He was, he explained, inexperienced in dealing with pretty ladies like herself. Naruto nodded furiously as she quieted at the compliment, not realizing the man had just insulted him.

"That's right," Sakura said, grudgingly lowering her arm. "He did run away from me earlier. Like a little girl."

She ignored his indignant cry as she dug into her ramen.

* * *

Naruto waved goodbye to the ramen stand owner, promising like he always did that he would return soon. They both knew he would follow up on it very near into the future.

"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked, but Sakura just shook her head.

"I already called my driver. He should be here any minute," she explained.

Naruto's eyes widened. "A driver, huh? So you really are rich."

Sakura only smiled awkwardly, wary of Naruto's bluntness, but otherwise ignored the comment. They waited in comfortable silence until her ride arrived – an expensively shining luxury vehicle, Naruto noted. She turned to him, smiling honestly then. "Thank you for tonight, Naruto. I really do appreciate it."

He gave her his best disarming smile, "No problem, Sakura. If you need me to beat up the person who stood you up, don't hesitate to call me."

The girl laughed, shaking her head. "That's okay. It was just… a friend. I can take care of myself, anyway," she said, raising an arm and flexing her non-existent muscles. Remembering the hit he'd taken to his head, Naruto didn't doubt her. Once they said their goodbyes, he helped her into the back of the car, shutting the door behind her and waving as the car drove away.

He walked home at a leisurely pace, cherishing the mood he'd parted with Sakura in. He made his way into the apartment, flicking the lights on as he walked in and threw his keys on the kitchen counter. He was ready to call it a day as events finally caught up with him in the form of aches all over his body. He was exhausted.

The answering machine flashed red with unheard messages, so he clicked the play button as he poured himself a glass of water. The sound of the machine's mechanical voice filled the small kitchen as it began to play back the missed calls.

"You have five new messages."

"First message, left today, at 5:24pm. 'Hey, Naruto. It's Kiba. You're not answering your cell, so I'm leaving a message here. Just calling to remind you to pick Hinata up from the airport at nine tonight. I left my car keys hanging by the front door. Don't forget, okay? Okay. Talk to you later.'"

Naruto set the glass down, feeling his stomach drop in horror.

"Next message, left today, at 7:40pm. 'Hey. It's me again. I just got a call from Hinata. She said her flight's going to be on time. So be there on time! I don't want her to wait for even a second.'"

"Next message, left today, at 8:12pm. 'Naruto. What the hell? Why aren't you answering your phone? I need to know if you're picking her up. Where the hell are you?'"

"Next message, left today, at 9:15pm. 'Yo. Naruto. Answer. Your. Phone… Gah. Fuck this.'"

Oh, "this" was fucked, alright.

"Next message, left today, at 9:56pm. 'Naruto! Where the hell are you? I'm getting worried! God damnit, you better have picked her up and I'm just yelling at empty air for no reason! Call me when you get this message.'"

"End of final message."

Naruto turned with dread towards the clock on the wall. 10:26pm. Fuck. There was no way in hell he was calling Kiba back right then, but if he hurried now, he could make it to the airport in half an hour.

He grabbed the keys Kiba had left for him and ran to the parking space assigned to their apartment. The car sputtered to life after his third attempt at starting the engine; Kiba's car was a piece of shit, that was for sure. Hopefully it wouldn't break down on him on the way there. Or on the way back. Either way, he was dead.

He pulled into the airport at exactly 11:03pm, or so the dashboard clock read, and parked in the first spot he could find before running into the building. It wasn't until he was inside that he realized he had absolutely no idea which airline Hinata had flown on.

"Oh my god, fuck this! Why is everything going wrong tonight?" He growled and spun around suddenly, not noticing the figure moving to walk around him from behind. He crashed into the person, sending both of them flying to the ground.

He found himself staring into wide dark eyes from an unnervingly close distance, so close he could even see flecks of color around the irises. He lay there, prostrate above the stranger in surprise at the turn of events until a miniscule detail crawled its way into his awareness: He should not have known how soft the other's lips were.

His eyes widened as realization dawned on him and he drew back abruptly, wiping his mouth and spitting furiously. He watched as the other man rose calmly from the floor, discreetly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and somehow managing to make the move look both dramatic and casual at once.

"Idiot," the man said as he reached for his fallen carry-on. "Watch where you're going."

Not to be outdone by the other's sheer coolness, Naruto jumped to his feet and pointed rudely to the dark-haired man who was now completely ignoring his existence. "You watch where the hell you're going!" he shouted before the man's insult registered in his mind. "Idiot? Who the fuck are you calling idiot, asshole? You just walked right into me!"

The man only raised a fine brow at his shout, noticing the sudden attention that was drawn to the two of them. "You're the one who ran into me. Now get out of my way."

He shouldered his bag and began walking away, leaving Naruto fuming behind him.

"Are you shitting me? What the hell! You ran into me, bast - Hey! I'm talking to - Don't walk away, you piece of – AGH! What an asshole!" Naruto shouted, not caring that he was causing a scene.

"What a piece of shit, that fucking asshole. Who the hell does he think he is? Running into me and then acting like it was my fault," Naruto grumbled to himself, oblivious to the girl trying to get his attention in a small voice.

"Uh. U-um. E-excuse m-me," she stuttered, but Naruto was too preoccupied with his anger. He rounded on her without warning, causing her to draw back in surprise and nearly drop her bag. His eyes widened when he saw her.

"Hinata!"

She almost fainted at his enthusiastic embrace, too shy to lift her arms around him in return.

"Oh, Hinata! You're still here! I'm sorry I'm late! I totally lost track of time and I rushed here as quickly as I could! I'm such an idiot!"

The girl tried to assure him that it was okay, she hadn't waited long - in fact, she'd been waiting for two hours, but it was okay, really - but Naruto had already begun a litany of self-reprimanding insults.

The drive home was relatively tense, Hinata too flustered to break the silence and Naruto fuming at his encounter with the stupid asshole of a stranger and dreading having to explain to Kiba tomorrow morning exactly why he'd been late picking Hinata up.

He showed her into the apartment, lugging her baggage behind him.

"You'll be staying in Kiba's room, if that's okay with you," he explained as he dropped her bags to the floor in Kiba's surprisingly clean room – cleaned specially for Hinata, of course. "I'm really sorry I made you wait at the airport. I'm such an asshole."

Hinata blushed at the apologies he had yet to stop and mumbled out a quiet thank you for his hospitality. Naruto grinned, "Anyway, I'm in the next room if you need anything."

When she declined any need for help, he returned to his own room and collapsed on his bed with a weary sigh. It really had been a long day and to make matters worse, he had an early morning class tomorrow.

He fell asleep with the hope that Kiba might kill him before he had to go.

**TBC**

* * *

**Notes:  
**So the characters slowly – really, really slowly – begin to make their appearances. Don't know how this chapter became so long, but I guess it can't be helped. Feel free to comment/make suggestions. I'm kind of starving for attention here...

_Edit: 9/20/2011_


	3. Chapter 2

**Previously:** Naruto, having adjusted to life during academic suspension, accidentally breaks his phone in a fit of rage, makes a horrible first impression on Sakura and, in trying to get back into her good graces, forgets to pick Hinata up from the airport on time - which results in a very irritated Kiba and a disastrous encounter with a mean stranger.

* * *

Chapter Two  
_In the garden of thy heart_

* * *

Miraculously, Kiba didn't kill Naruto in the morning.

Sometime long after the sun went down and not too long before it went right back up again, Kiba had returned home from school. Naruto couldn't say he knew for sure what time that might have been as he'd been fast asleep, but felt it was safe to assume the poor guy had likely crashed the second he'd walked in. Even so, Naruto couldn't really muster any sympathy for his exhausted friend. While Kiba slept on, dead to the world in a state of bliss, Naruto woke up with only 20 minutes until he had to leave for school.

Fighting the drowsiness from his fatigued body, Naruto rushed through his morning routine before grudgingly making his way to school. Glancing at the cars stuck in morning traffic, he felt vaguely thankful that he lived within walking distance; for all that his body ached and groaned, he made it to school in record time. His professor would have a fit to see him so early.

Naruto had been on time to Iruka's class exactly once: the first day of the semester. It wasn't something he could help; class before 9am was possibly the most atrocious (yet effective) form of torture the greatest asshole in the world had ever conceived. And while he had made that dramatic declaration to redeem his fallen pride, how the hell was he expected to wake up for an 8am class like it was the most normal thing to do?

It didn't help that Iruka's lectures, while informative, were so unbelievably tame that Naruto swore it was a miracle half the class – the half that actually managed to make it (surprisingly a large amount, actually, when he really thought about it) – wasn't asleep most of the time. The only thing the professor had going for him was his reputation as a good teacher. Which was, admittedly, a good thing for a professor to have going.

Naruto strolled into the classroom with at least fifteen minutes to spare. He spotted a figure slumped over his desk, face burrowed into crossed arms. He was surprised the other had managed to make it so early considering he was fast asleep. Almost feeling embarrassed at his own uncharacteristic punctuality, Naruto took a seat not far from the sleeping student. He didn't want to look too eager, after all. Someone might die of shock.

More students started filtering in within the next few minutes, bringing with them the distinct smell of coffee as they filled the remaining empty seats. With only a minute to the start of class, students magically began appearing in droves.

Iruka walked in exactly on time. The man threw Naruto a surprised smile, disgustingly awake and cheerful. Naruto just shrugged in response. Standing before the class, the professor let out a bright greeting.

"Good morning, everyone!"

There were only a few discernable "morning"'s in the vague murmurs that sounded in response.

Obviously accustomed to the lack of spirit, the professor proceeded to pick up from where the previous lecture had left off. Somehow, an hour passed even though he swore he'd glanced at the clock no fewer than ten times every second. With twenty minutes left before the end of class Iruka took a break from his lecture. Naruto's excitement took a suicidal nose-dive when he realized why.

"I wanted to take some time to discuss the reading assigned for today. I hope everyone remembered to do it," the last was said with a stern gaze promising utter embarrassment to those who hadn't.

From his short time at the small school, Naruto learned Iruka was well known for singling out anyone who didn't do their readings – "The easiest homework a teacher could assign!" – and publicly reprimanded those unlucky individuals.

Despite this, his classes were always registered to maximum capacity. But why students still showed up when they hadn't done their homework and therefore knowingly set themselves up for a bout of serious humiliation was a complete mystery to Naruto. After the first, and hopefully last, time being called on for not being prepared for class, he decided he never wanted to suffer through such an ordeal ever again.

Unfortunately, with all the drama from the previous night, he'd completely forgotten to finish the paper he'd been struggling through yesterday. That left him with the almost definite likelihood of being put in that spotlight again.

"Talk with your nearest neighbor for the next five minutes. We'll discuss as a class for the remainder of the period." With that, the professor took a seat at the desk at the front of the class.

Naruto's nearest neighbor, as it turned out, was the sleeping student he had walked in on before class began. He was only mildly surprised to see the other still had his head down. It didn't look like he'd moved an inch since he first walked into class.

He considered waking him up. On the plus side, he may have done the reading and could fill Naruto in on anything he missed. However, the chances of that were extremely low – this guy looked lazier than Naruto and Kiba combined.

Then again, if the guy remained asleep, Naruto would have no partner, and without a partner, he wouldn't have to discuss a paper neither of them understood. Upon this realization, he mentally congratulated himself for reaching such a genius conclusion. He grinned as he leaned back in his chair, confidently propping his hands behind his head.

Unfortunately, he chose that exact moment to look up, accidentally locking eyes with Iruka's expectant gaze. He realized with horror that the man had taken notice of his silence and was well aware that the reason he wasn't talking to anyone was because his partner was fast asleep.

Naruto's carefully laid plans crumbled to the floor when he saw the teacher reach for the whiteboard eraser. Even though he was expecting it, the loud crash that echoed in the room still managed to make him jump along with the rest of his unsuspecting classmates. The sleeping student jerked awake, blinking slowly so his eyes adjust to the classroom lights.

The sadistic professor reached down to pick up the fallen eraser from the floor. "Carry on," he smiled to the students who had turned to look at him, gesturing with his arms for conversation to continue.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Naruto's unknowing partner in crime let out a wide yawn before speaking out in a bored tone.

"How troublesome."

Naruto couldn't agree more.

* * *

Naruto swore those last twenty minutes had defied all logic. The discussion had been painfully boring, but at least he'd escaped the teacher's clutches unscathed and class ended without any embarrassing incidents.

"Remember that the seminar assignment is due next week!" The professor called over the heads of students busy stuffing their bags with books. "There's a great lecture tonight – one of your last opportunities to get the assignment done. It's reserved especially for students, so take advantage of it. You may even see me there!"

Naruto groaned when he heard the announcement but took out a pen and paper again to note down the information written on the board. Once finished, he quickly made his way to the door. Iruka smiled and waved at him as he shuffled past the line of ass-kissers waiting to speak with the professor.

The end of his last class that day came reluctantly, but he survived, albeit with a sore ass and cramped fingers.

The first thing Naruto did was locate the nearest cell phone store to buy a replacement for the one he broke the day before. It should have been a simple, standard procedure: walk in, select phone, pay for it, leave. Nothing complicated. But after what most definitely was not the quickest of transactions, he finally walked out almost an hour later with a very simple – very, very inexpensive – brand new and, most importantly, working phone.

He checked the time on the device. The lecture wasn't for another few hours, meaning he probably had enough time to meet with Kiba and Hinata beforehand. He called the apartment phone since it was the only number he could remember off the top of his head. When no one answered, he began to leave a message. Partway through yelling at Kiba to get off his lazy ass and answer the phone, Hinata's timid voice cut in with a soft, "Hello?"

"Hey, Hinata! Where's Kiba?"

"He's, uh, he's in the b-bathroom."

He could just imagine the red spreading around her face as she attempted to speak and had both hands been free, she likely would have been pressing the tips of her pointer fingers together. Naruto never understood why she had such an allergic reaction to speaking. It didn't require much skill; even Naruto was more than adept at it, considering how often his mouth was open and spouting nonsense – although Naruto would punch anyone who called it such.

"Are we doing anything tonight? I have a lecture to go to around eight, but I'm up for something before." Really, had it been his own decision, he would have skipped the lecture in favor of anything else. Except maybe reading that paper he couldn't finish for Iruka's class.

There was silence on the other line for moment and, for a second, Naruto honestly thought Hinata had hung up. "You still there?"

"Y-yes!" The cry was very abrupt, startling him enough to make him falter in his step. "I-I was just t-thinking. I mean, we can, maybe, um, go for dinner before you go for the lecture?"

That sounded like a good idea and he told her as much. "Tell Kiba to call me on my cell. I'm going to do some homework and then I'll meet you guys at the restaurant. I'll see you later, 'kay, Hinata?"

"Okay. Bye, Naruto."

He hung up just as he reached the door to the coffee shop. He walked in and cursed at the number of people in the small building. It looked like everyone in the city had decided to stop by at that exact moment. He reluctantly got in line behind a tall, bulky man, irritated that he couldn't see past the guy's broad shoulders. Why the hell was he so big anyway, Naruto wondered as his eyes roamed over the other patrons.

He paused in his scan of the area, eyes jumping back to a familiar pink-haired individual sitting at a table in the corner, deeply absorbed in an article. As if sensing eyes on her, she looked up and her gaze met his. He raised his hand to wave and smiled, but her gaze wavered, flicking down then back up to him, before finally returning to the magazine in her hands.

Naruto stared at her in surprise, hand raised stupidly in the air. His fists clenched, annoyed that she could so easily pretend she didn't know him. Sure, they hadn't exactly gotten off on the right foot, but he thought he'd compensated for his initial boorish behavior with excessive friendliness the last time he saw her.

He ordered his drink with hostility growing in his gut and waited for it with ever-increasing irritation. He didn't even bother thanking the barista when she called out his order, simply grabbing the drink angrily and making his way over to the table where the girl sat.

Once he reached her, however, Naruto realized he wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to confront her. It wasn't like she was morally obligated to acknowledge him just because they'd eaten together once. What exactly was he supposed to say? Angrily demand why she didn't smile and wave at him like acquaintances were supposed to? Call her an ugly, stuck-up pig and run out as fast as he could, preferably way before she could react?

Suddenly he felt ridiculous, standing there with his drink clenched in one hand, ready to throw down some serious shit. It didn't help that she had yet to even raise her head at the shadow he cast on her table.

Feeling the blood rush to his face as he felt his ego and pride crash horribly to the ground, he let out a soft cough to clear his throat. The sound caught the girl's attention, and she lifted her head from the article she'd been so absorbed in. Her eyes widened in recognition when she saw him.

"Naruto! How long have you been standing there?" She folded the magazine shut and gestured for him to sit down across from her, moving her drink to the side to make room on the table. "What a coincidence to see you again so soon."

Dumbfounded, Naruto plopped down on the chair before another thought could run through his head. "Uh, yeah," he agreed stupidly.

"What's wrong?" she asked when he just sat there, not saying a word.

Realizing he was making a fool of himself, he let out a weak laugh. "Oh, uh. Yeah. I'm not sure. Just, I wasn't expecting you to be so friendly."

Her brows wrinkled in confusion at his statement, clearly not understanding why he felt she'd still be angry with him. "Were you expecting me to punch you in the face? I can, if it'll make you feel more comfortable."

Naruto's response was almost immediate: he leaned as far back against his chair as possible, raising a hand and holding it in front of his face as a shield. "No! No!"

At the girl's laughter, he stilled his actions, feeling embarrassed he'd had such a strong reaction to a girl's threat. "Don't worry, Naruto. I was only joking."

"Yeah, heh," he laughed awkwardly, something he seemed to be doing often in her presence, and tried to change the subject. "So, how about that. We keep seeing each other. It's like Murphy's Law, or something."

He took a quick sip from his drink to calm his nerves, completely forgetting about the scalding heat until he burnt his tongue. Letting out a surprised cry of pain, he jerked the cup away from his mouth. A tiny drop of liquid escaped through the lip at the unexpected motion, splashing onto his hand and burning him. He cursed in his head as he grabbed a napkin with his free hand to wipe the tender area.

Although she grinned, Sakura didn't comment on his clumsiness, but she did raise both brows at his words. "I hope you don't really mean Murphy's Law."

"Of course I do," he said, testing the sensitivity of the burn on his tongue against the back of his teeth before explaining. "You know, Murphy's Law! How you keep seeing something only because you noticed it earlier? Like, you buy an orange sweater and then suddenly everyone's wearing orange."

If anything, her eyebrows only climbed a little higher on her forehead. "That's not…" It was obvious she had every intention to make a comment, but instead trailed off with a low chuckle.

"Okay," she acknowledged, smiling at him in amusement. "By Murphy's Law, we keep running into each other. I guess I can buy that."

Naruto didn't catch the humor in her voice - even if he had, he wouldn't have understood her reasons for it. He grinned with satisfaction at diffusing the self-induced tension.

Sakura's eyes roamed over his figure, taking in the schoolbag strapped to his back, which he only then remembered to remove so he could sit more comfortably on the seat. "You're a student?"

"Yep. I just got out of class."

"So you're still in school." The tone of her voice made him hesitate; it wasn't really a question, neither did it seem like a casual statement. If anything, it made him slightly uncomfortable with his already humiliating suspension status. "What year are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

Well, when she asked it like that, sure, he minded a lot. Especially when he considered his current predicament. "Uh… well, that's complicated," he began, not exactly interested in explaining the circumstances surrounding why exactly things were complicated. "I'm technically a senior, but I won't be graduating until probably next year. I'm just taking classes part-time right now."

"I see…" She seemed to take this information in stride. If she wondered why he wasn't planning to graduate, she didn't ask nor did she give any indication she was even curious about it. Instead, she let the topic slide and followed up with another question. "How old did you say you were?"

While they had talked at great length the previous night, their conversations remained casual, neither really wanting to extend it to anything more private. They'd covered all the topics two casual acquaintances could cover. Not once had they bothered with personal questions. Naruto wondered why she wanted to enter the world of personal questions then, but answered anyway. It wasn't like he didn't want to know more about her.

"Twenty-one. Twenty-two at the end of this year," he replied without hesitation.

She nodded her head as if in confirmation and took a sip of her drink. Naruto noticed the way her eyes wandered then. He had the impression he'd said something wrong, but she smiled at him suddenly, derailing his speculations entirely.

"Well, even if it's polite of you not to ask my age, I'm not that old that I'd be offended to share it with you."

Only the smile on her face let him know she wasn't really as upset as her comment implied. Naruto was only good with a small range of words, most of them completely inappropriate for any formal or friendly situation. "Uh, okay."

She lightly slapped his arm, grinning the whole time. "It's okay. I understand you're afraid of my 'manly strength.'" Before he could even open his mouth to vehemently deny her claim, she continued, "I'm 26."

He never realized his mouth could open that wide. "No way!" he screamed, completely disregarding her flinch at the increase in volume. "You look like you're my age!"

She rolled her eyes at his reaction, "As if 21 is any different than 26."

"It's a huge difference!" he exclaimed, emphasizing the hugeness of the difference by holding out his arms far apart. "You're practically twice my age!"

"Okay, Naruto."

"No, really. But you look really good for your age!" He made sure to emphasize the "really," "I mean, I seriously wouldn't have guessed. You take really good care of yourself."

He was just entering a round of why he thought she was beautiful even despite being old enough to be his mother when she slammed her fist heavily onto the table, causing their cups to jump slightly from the force of it.

"Not another word about my age or how I look."

"Yes, sir!"

Expecting a hit for the joke, Naruto tensed his muscles in preparation, but Sakura only shook her head, placing a hand to her forehead as if she was going to faint. "I don't know why I even bother…"

Whatever she wanted to say was cut off by the sound of an unfamiliar ringtone. It took him a moment to realize the sound was coming from his pocket and he scrambled to pull his phone out. He vaguely recognized the number on the screen as Kiba, but hesitated in answering. He looked to Sakura, who gave him the go ahead.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Naruto! Finally picking up your phone again, huh?"

"I had to buy a new one. Mine broke yesterday." Not wanting to go into the details, he steered the conversation towards their plans for the evening. They decided to meet at a Chinese restaurant not too far from where Naruto had to go for the lecture. Confirming the meeting time, Naruto hung up and apologized to Sakura for making her wait.

"No, it's okay. I actually have to be going anyway," she explained as she began to stand. Naruto rose with her, disappointed that their time together had ended so quickly. After saying her goodbyes, she began to walk away. Halfway to the door, she turned around again, looking at Naruto blankly before returning to the table.

"I…" She began, but hesitated. The indecision surprised him, as Naruto had gotten the impression that she was the type to always be in complete control.

Her resolve seemed to return fairly quickly and she reached into her purse, pulling out a pen and paper. He watched her write something on the sheet before clicking the pen shut and returning it to her purse. She held out the paper, which he took. A number stared up at him in blue ink.

"If you don't mind hanging out with a granny, that is." Her hands fidgeted at the straps on her purse, the only thing that hinted at her self-consciousness.

Naruto smiled, truly happy that he she had given him her number without prompt. "Of course I would, Sakura."

She smiled then, nodding slightly before waving and turning to leave again. Naruto watched her go. When she disappeared through the doorway, he returned his gaze to the paper in his hands. He punched the number into his phone just in case he lost the paper. He couldn't believe it, that a girl had attempted a friendship with him of her own accord.

When he left to meet with Kiba, it was with a huge smile on his face, not caring in the least he'd gotten absolutely no work done.

* * *

Dinner was a boisterous affair. Kiba and Naruto made up for Hinata's silence tenfold. Had they not been paying customers that ordered obscene amounts of food, they were all sure the restaurant owner would have kicked them out minutes after seating them.

Kiba laughed at Naruto's recount of his morning class, where he'd almost died getting caught trying to weasel his way out of the discussion. He was especially amused when he heard about the kid that had slept through the whole thing - or tried to, anyway.

"Sounds like that classmate of yours would fit right into our group of misfits."

"You're right. I should've gotten his name, at least," Naruto agreed. He'd been too concerned protecting himself from Iruka's wrath to bother with getting to know his discussion partner. He turned to Hinata, who was quietly picking at her meal, "So, Hinata. You never told us how you managed to convince your parents to stay with us. Those guys are so unbelievably uptight, I'm surprised they haven't tied you up and locked you in your room."

At the swift kick he received to his shin, Naruto cursed, "Fuck! Kiba! What the hell? You know it's true."

"You don't have to be such an ass about it, though," his friend said, not sorry in the least for kicking as hard as he could. "Right, Hinata?"

Hinata blushed at the looks she received from both boys, not used to being the center of attention. Her fingers found their way to each other, pressing together in her usual pose of uncertainty as she stammered through her response, "A-a-actually, I didn't t-tell them."

"What?" Kiba and Naruto cried out at the same time, oblivious in their state of shock to the annoyed looks sent in their direction.

"I told them I was staying with my cousin," the girl explained nervously, face flaming at her defiance.

After the moment of shocked silence passed, Naruto reached over the table to clap a hand against her shoulder, feeling like a parent witnessing their child in a shining moment. "Wow, Hinata. I didn't know you had it in you!"

Kiba shook his head in mock disappointment, "Looks like Naruto finally managed to rub off on you. Oh, Hinata, you managed to remain pure for so long. Too bad you were hanging around a guy like him."

The two could feel the heat coming from the girl's face, warming the area around their table like their own personal heater. She shook her head slightly. "I don't mind. I want to be strong like Naruto," she replied, almost too quietly to hear.

Kiba choked on his water, before bursting into a loud bark of laughter. "'S-strong'? Hahaha, that's priceless! Naruto's such a wimp!"

"No, I'm not!" The accused jumped up unnecessarily to defend himself. "Hinata's smart! She knows what she's talking about! You're just jealous she likes me better than you."

As the conversation dwindled down to childish insults and jabs at intelligence and manliness, Hinata somehow managed not to faint at the attention, Naruto and Kiba somehow managed to keep their arguments purely verbal, and the three somehow managed to not get kicked out. By the end of the meal, Naruto realized with dismay that he was again late to a very important event.

He threw down some money for his share of the check, hastily said his goodbyes and ran out. He had been planning to walk to the concert hall where the lecture was being held, but at that point he only had the option of the subway if he wanted to make it on time. Glancing down at his watch, he broke into a light run; if he hurried, he could make it to the nearest stop before the next train left.

As luck would have it, he managed to jump into the crowded car just before the doors closed. Several others piled in behind him, nearly flattening him against the closed doors as he reached a steadying hand to one of the bars overhead. Pressed against faceless shoulders, he was reminded of the large man in the coffee shop, how he'd been unable to see anything beyond the man's shoulders. He stared in irritation out the window instead, catching sight of his own reflection highlighted by the bright lights within the car.

The voice on the train's intercom called out his stop sooner than he expected and he pulled out his phone to check the time. It was only 7:45. He'd been on time to almost everything today. As people began to filter out, he moved easily with the flow of bodies.

Even at the leisurely pace he set making his way towards the lecture hall, he made it there with time to spare. After a brief wait in line, he burst through the entrance with a newly purchased ticket in hand – which he handed immediately it to an attendant waiting expectantly by the front doors. Even with only a few minutes until the start of the lecture, the halls were filled with people.

Naruto dodged an usher subtly trying to herd people towards their seats, instead following the signs for the restrooms. Surprisingly, it was empty. It took him only a moment to complete his business and he was soon making for the exit once again. He paused briefly before the door to smooth down his attire and adjust his hair. Finding himself fit for the outside world, he reached for the handle – only to have the door swing unexpectedly inwards, catching him – and his nose – completely off guard.

The force behind the push left his nose smarting and Naruto reeled back from the pain. His hands instinctively reached for the injured part of his face, feeling for wetness and thankfully finding none.

"Fuck," he mumbled into his hand, looking up at the man who had inadvertently hit him on his way into the restroom. He waited patiently for the polite apology but when the other man simply tried to side-step him his grip flew to the door to keep it from opening further. He stood firm, meeting the man's sharp gaze with an angry glare.

"You just hit me in the face," he prompted.

"Don't stand behind the door, moron," came the response.

Naruto's mouth dropped open as the man firmly pushed him aside. His mouth worked, unsuccessfully, as he watched the rude stranger rinse his hands quickly in the sink before turning around again to walk right past him, Naruto conveniently holding the door open. It wasn't until he was watching the figure disappear through the doorway that he broke from his stupor. His body moved before he could think and slipped through the closing door.

"Hey!" He called, for some reason fully expecting the other to turn around and wait for him. Instead, only the few heads still left in the lobby turned as he followed the man towards a set of doors to the side of the auditorium. "Hey! I'm talking you, asshole!"

He quickened his steps, reaching out to grab the man at the elbow and spin him around. He glared at the stranger standing calmly before him.

"Are you deaf or something?"

The man stared at him with dark, uncaring eyes. The look on his face was one of contempt and if Naruto had been anyone else, he would have been cowering from his gaze. Luckily, Naruto was an idiot and he returned the look with a disgusted one of his own.

"Seriously, what the hell is your problem, asshole? You just opened the door in my face and didn't even apologize. I mean, who do you think you are?"

"Is that all this is about?" The man's voice was deep and completely bland, carrying absolutely no emotion or inflection. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, which he offered carelessly to Naruto. "Keep it."

The blond blindly grabbed at the cloth as it hit his chest, crumpling it in his hands as he felt the rage swell deep within him at the dismissal. He couldn't help the feeling of déjà vu as he stared at the man, whose callous attitude was so ludicrous it seemed unreal. How did someone manage to become such a huge asshole without even a shred of remorse?

"You son of a – " Naruto cut himself off, instead reaching out to grab a hold of the man's shirt and pulling him close. The action did nothing to intimidate the other. He simply continued to stare at Naruto challengingly, a move that fueled his growing rage. "I swear, if you don't apologize this instant, I'm going to beat the shit out of that ugly face of yours."

The stranger smirked. "I'd like to see you try," he taunted.

He was just about to comply, fists clenching until his knuckles turned white, when an authoritative voice broke into his angry haze. "Is something wrong, sirs?"

Naruto turned to his right, where a security guard stood watching the two carefully. He turned back to the stranger held close to him, noting that he had yet to acknowledge the guard and was still staring him down. Knowing better than to confront the man – so publicly anyway – Naruto scoffed, letting go with a rough shove.

"No, sir," he responded. "We were just on our way."

The man nodded, simply straightening the fabric Naruto had crushed in his grip. He nodded again politely to the guard, before making his way through the double doors without another word. Naruto fumed at his back, ignoring the guard's warning that he better keep his anger in check or he would be thrown out. Of course, now he looked like the bad guy.

By then, the lobby was nearly deserted. He ignored the questioning glances of a wandering few and made his way to the second floor balcony seats, taking an empty seat somewhere in the middle of the front row. His eyes quickly scanned the area around him, roaming over the crowds of people for a familiar face, but didn't see anyone he knew.

He was surprised he managed to sit so close considering how little time there was before the lecture began. Just for the heck of it, he leaned forward to look over the balcony, trying to catch a glimpse of the dark-haired stranger but he could barely tell anyone apart. From the top, everyone's head looked the same.

He gave up after a few minutes when a lady sat down in the seat next to him, eyeing him warily as he leaned back roughly in his seat and propped his feet up on the ledge. He returned the look with a glare of his own, not in the mood for another person's attitude, and pulled a notebook and pencil from his book bag to take down notes for the assignment. All he needed was to get a few points down so he could write a vague summary and his response to the event. He wondered if Iruka was there too, recalling that he'd made a comment about wanting to see the lecture.

Several minutes later, when Naruto had calmed a considerable degree, the lights slightly dimmed to indicate the start of the event. A fat man walked onto the stage and the crowd quieted as he stood before the podium. Once he had the audience's full attention, he began his brief introduction.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. On behalf of the - -* Board, I'd like to welcome you to the third installment in our international business and innovation lecture series," his voice, amplified by the microphone, echoed around the auditorium. "In our partnership with - -* University, we have been lucky to bring world-renowned speakers to our nation's youngest and brightest students. Especially tonight, we are privileged to invite our current speaker, whose speeches, as many of you may already know, are usually sold out months in advance. In fact, from this audience alone, it would seem male university students are a rare commodity, indeed."

Quiet laughter echoed throughout the hall and Naruto glanced around, for the first time noticing the predominantly female audience. However, the man was clearly exaggerating, as there were a good number of men sprinkled in between, himself included. Unperturbed by the light response at his attempt at a joke, the man simply adjusted his glasses and continued.

"Near-idol status aside, this man's resume has been the source of envy and awe to many. Graduating at the top of his class from the nation's finest school of business, he went on to take over his family business at the age of twenty-two. He emerged from tragedy as one of the world's youngest leading businessmen and currently heads one of the most successful and influential corporations, The Uchiha Organization. Without further ado, please welcome, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto began to clap along with the rest of the crowd unenthusiastically, completely bored out of his mind, as a dark-haired figure made his way onto the stage. But as his eyes processed the speaker for the night, his hands slowed, eventually coming to a complete stop when he realized just who he was staring at.

Even from the distance, Naruto could recognize the air of supreme arrogance radiating from the speaker. At the sight of him, Naruto unconsciously ground his teeth as his heart began to race. He could feel his face heat up with the fury and his pencil snapped in half from the strength of his clenched hand. He had paid to see this asshole talk? What a fucking rip-off!

Naruto didn't hear a single word the man said, completely tuning out the sound of his aggravatingly self-assured voice. Instead, he drew angry sketches on his notebook paper, hundreds of stick figures finding various paths to very painful deaths. He was happy he could put a name to the butchered stick drawings.

Sometime during the lecture, the lady seated to his right got up and didn't come back. He imagined it must have had something to do with the angry mutterings he didn't really bother quieting down.

At the end – Naruto knew it was the end by the sudden sound of the audience applauding – he remained seated as the rest gave the speaker a standing ovation. As if anything he said could really have been that great. The fat man from before walked onto the stage again, leaning forward to speak into the microphone as Mr. Asshole stood to the side.

"We'd like to open it up for any questions the audience may have for Mr. Uchiha. Please use the microphones situated on each floor."

Naruto stood and shouldered his bag, fully prepared to leave. He didn't know why he bothered to stay through the whole thing anyway. It was probably his stingy nature kicking in, not really willing to walk out of something he paid for. As he moved over the people still seated, uncaringly stepping on many feet and ignoring the annoyed looks thrown at him, some girl stood up and made her way to the microphone set up at the center of the aisle near the balcony's ledge.

He pushed past her as she began to stutter out her admiration, almost gagging as she talked about how inspirational and amazing he was. For fuck's sake, why didn't she just ask him to marry her? Feeling the rage come to a boil, he turned around and made his way to where she stood, blushing, staring with adoration down at the man on the stage. With one forceful shove, he cut her off immediately as she stumbled off to the side.

He tapped the microphone roughly, hearing the sensitive piece amplify the sound.

"Uh, yeah," he spoke into the head. "I have a question for the fucker."

A murmur ran through the auditorium as people shifted to stare in astonishment at the person who had the audacity to speak so crudely in public.

"I have a question," he repeated, not caring at all about the looks people were throwing him. "At what point in your career do you think you'll be able to remove that fucking stick shoved so far up your ass? Because if that's what we all have to go through to become complete assholes like you, then I'd rather be living homeless out on the streets, eating my own shit to survive."

Despite the increasing agitation of the crowd, Naruto could see the man remain completely unfazed by his insults. Someone in the crowd called for security, but Sasuke leaned forward to respond to the taunt, bracing his hands on either side of the podium.

"I wasn't aware this lecture was open to the general public. I had been assured I would be speaking before only the nation's most up and coming student leaders. I sincerely hope you are not a reflection of whatever talent this room may have, as I do not appreciate wasting my time on those who have no concept of success."

"What? Why you – " Naruto was unable to continue his curse when both his arms were grabbed and he was pulled roughly from the mic. Embarrassment flowed through his body at the treatment. "Hey, let go of me, you fucking idiots. I'm not done! Let go!"

Although he struggled fiercely, he was unable to shake off the two men who had a hold of him. One of them leaned towards him, "I'm sorry, sir. But we're going to have to ask you to leave. Please don't resist."

Naruto resisted, feeling his face flush with humiliation when the crowd applauded his rough expulsion. He was escorted all the way to the first floor and out the front door. The two men shoved him through the doors, calling after him as he stumbled and landed in a pool of water. What the hell, it hadn't even rained!

"If you come back in, we'll have you arrested," came the warning as they disappeared back inside.

Naruto slammed a fist into the water, causing it to splash up and hit him in the face. As a drop landed in his eye, creating a slight burning sensation, he screamed at everything he hated at that moment.

Fuck water, he thought. Fuck the rain, fuck people, fuck lectures, fuck Iruka and his god damn assignments. Fuck his own inability to be number one, fuck those that doubted him, fuck school, fuck life. Fuck a whole slew of things, actually. But most of all, fuck one Sasuke Uchiha.

Fuck him to hell.

**TBC **

* * *

**Notes:**

I'm sorry it took so long to update. Time really flies, you know? When I realized how long it'd been, I tried to hurry this up a bit. I'll try to make the next one sooner… Anyway, thanks so much to those who reviewed the previous chapters! Makes me so happy.

**The blanks in Sasuke's introduction speech are intentional. While this fic is obviously written with an American perspective, I didn't want to tie it down to any specific location. (Among other reasons.) Sorry if it seems lazy; I'm just trying to keep things anonymous.

_Edit: 9/26/2011_


	4. Chapter 3

**Previously:** After a dull day at school, Naruto finally buys a replacement phone, gets Sakura's number, has dinner with Kiba and Hinata, and, upon finally "meeting" Sasuke, realizes he's the biggest a-hole in the world.

* * *

Chapter Three  
_The height of failure_

* * *

_Phil 209  
Naruto Uzumaki  
Seminar response _

_Some key points I managed to take home from the fucking lecture you recommended:_

_One; it is physically possible to survive without taking a shit for the majority of your life. There is no other explanation for why that bastard is still alive. I concede that it is slightly impressive to be walking around in that much pain. However, because we are talking about someone who is clearly not a human being, I feel comfortable stating that the admiration is negligible._

_Two; one of the surefire ways to make it big in the business world is to be a major asshole, step on as many "little people's" feet as possible, rape mothers and their babies, and then perform sexual favors for your own parents to secure your multi-million dollar job in which you do jack shit._

_And finally, three; you can get paid for talking out of your ass. _

_In conclusion, after attending this lecture, I feel inspired to become an asshole, stick a ten-foot pole up my ass, and condone incest. I would rather not have spent all that money._

* * *

"Naruto, you can't turn this in!" Kiba handed the paper back with a big, red 'X' running over the entire document.

"Fuck you, Kiba." That had been one of his more tame re-writes.

He spent the rest of the night trying to convince his friend that "fuck" was perfectly appropriate for an academic paper. He eventually conceded to removing a few choice words and, with Hinata's help, managed to transform his assignment into something that vaguely resembled what he was supposed to write. Too bad it would be an effort made in vain.

Despite the rather apocalyptic feelings Naruto harbored for his number one enemy, the world didn't internally combust as a result of his sweltering rage. If anything, life remained as absolutely simple as it ever was, filled with boring days of class and work and not so boring days filled with Kiba and Hinata and – just once, very briefly, so brief it probably didn't count – Sakura, when he finally built enough courage to call her and was told she was busy. He was still waiting for that return call.

On the last day of Hinata's weeklong visit, Kiba promised a home cooked meal despite neither of the three knowing the first thing about anything when it came to making meals. After one disastrous attempt at a dish an online recipe website rated as "very easy" – an attempt that very nearly cost Naruto his eye – they abandoned the plan and ordered take-out. No one regretted the decision. The chicken was a lot better than anything they could put together.

When the last of their lunch had been consumed, Kiba offered to do the dishes. Naruto graciously left him his plate and moved to sit in front of the T.V. as Hinata browsed the shelf lined with DVDs.

Instead of a movie, she returned with a box neither Kiba nor Naruto knew what to do with. It was full of photographs taken during their high school years, back when life had been about inconsequential popularity – or their lack of it – and the not so inconsequential search for colleges. While he much preferred watching a movie over sorting through some forgotten photographs, at Hinata's suggestion he prepared to flip through them anyway.

It was strange; the people who had at once been such prominent figures in his life had become nothing more than distant memories attached to faces he barely recognized. Naruto felt, for the first time in a long time, a deep sense of nostalgia for when life had been so much easier. Back then, his faults and failures had never resulted in such unforgiving consequences.

Sometimes life really sucked.

"Oh!" He cried as he came across a familiar face, mouth covered by a high collar and eyes hidden behind dark glasses. "Isn't that Shino? Man, that guy was weird, always comparing everything to bugs."

His critter obsessed friend had always separated from their rather small group, preferring to sit outside with the insects rather than with his human companions inside. Absently, he wondered how the other was doing. Aside from Kiba and Hinata, he couldn't remember the last time he had spoken to any of his high school friends. Even then, his friendship with those two had been maintained through no effort of his own.

It was hard to lose contact with someone who enrolled in the same university as him, especially when they roomed together. But had Kiba not been such good friends with Hinata, he'd likely have lost track of the quiet girl. Kiba and Hinata, along with Shino, had always been unusually close.

Naruto always longed for the same companionship the three shared. Having entered their group long after bonds had already been established, he'd never actually felt like he'd fully belonged when hanging with just them.

Hinata leaned in, giggling when she spotted the boy in question standing at the back of the crowd and almost completely hidden in the shadows. "Yes, that's Shino. He's still the same now, too, pursuing his passion."

"You still talk to him?" Naruto questioned, honestly surprised, and curious since he hadn't heard from the guy since they'd graduated. Although, again, perhaps that was his own fault, being so absorbed in achieving his own goals.

The girl nodded, explaining that they emailed each other whenever they had time. Naruto wasn't sure if he should feel offended that the distant boy hadn't emailed him as well. He wondered if maybe Kiba also kept in touch, and if he had, why Naruto didn't know.

"You talking about Shino? Of course!" Kiba called from the kitchen, unconsciously answering Naruto's silent question as he tried to remain a part of their conversation. "He sent me his thesis before graduating, even though I didn't understand a thing. Something about immune responses and the effects of forced insomnia on his beloved insects."

"It was very interesting," Hinata added with a smile. She sounded awfully proud, for once speaking clearly.

"Huh. Exciting," he commented despite not finding it interesting in the least. There was a reason he hadn't majored in science. "Must not have liked them all that much if he was doing experiments on them. But, good for him."

He tried to think of other people he could ask Hinata about, but just then Kiba broke into his mental check of the people he barely remembered.

"Done! All done!" the boy suddenly announced of his dish duty, exiting the kitchen with his hands raised as if receiving applause.

Having lost his train of thought at the disturbance, Naruto ignored him, instead flipping on to the next picture. Hinata looked like she wanted to praise Kiba's actions, but Naruto drew her attention down to the photo in his hand.

"You're welcome," the boy continued, undeterred by their disinterest. "I thoroughly enjoyed washing the remnants of your meal with my bare hands."

"Where was this taken?" Naruto asked Hinata, giving her a moment to study the picture. It was a restaurant setting, rather fancy actually, but Naruto didn't remember any occasion that called for anything flashy like the button up shirt and brightly colored tie he was wearing in the picture.

Finally feeling left out, Kiba leaned in on his other side to offer his opinion, "Wasn't that our senior dinner?"

Naruto laughed in remembrance as Hinata drew back with a nod of agreement.

"That's right!" he cried, bits of the dinner returning to him sparingly. However, his recollection of the memory was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Surprised, he turned to Kiba, who shrugged his shoulders.

Seeing that his roommate wasn't making any move to answer the door, Naruto shifted the photos to Hinata's lap and stepped over Kiba's knees roughly. He received a shove to his back in retaliation and barely managed to stay upright as he stumbled out from between the two. Taking the few steps from the couch to the front door, he pulled it open with a wide grin and was met with a stern looking man who failed to return Naruto's friendly greeting.

"Can I help you?" Naruto asked after several awkward seconds of silence, fighting to keep a pleasant expression on his face. At the question, the dissatisfaction radiating from the stranger only seemed to increase and his unnervingly pale eyes traveled over Naruto's figure. Feeling slightly self-conscious at the look, Naruto contemplated slamming the door in the stranger's face but then the man spoke.

"I'm here for Hinata."

Letting the smile drop fully from his face at the cold tone of voice, Naruto took in the other's appearance at the response. He couldn't place if he'd ever met him before. Nothing about the man seemed familiar. But then, Naruto didn't like to associate with too many assholes. This guy looked like a big one.

He turned to glance over his shoulder, where the couch was in plain view from the entryway. The stranger's eyes followed to where Hinata sat frozen on the seat, eyes wide and face pale. Naruto could see the tremor in her hands.

"B-brother N-neji…"

"Huh?" Naruto stared at the girl, mouth dropping open before turning back to the guy. Since when did Hinata have a brother? He stepped back a bit to take them both in; dark hair, pale eyes, light skin… Maybe they did resemble each other.

"Hinata, you know this guy?" he asked, confused, gesturing in the direction of the man with his thumb. Kiba's brows rose in confusion. It didn't look like he recognized him either.

"I-I…" the girl tried to stammer a reply, but the guy's presence was apparently enough to completely disrupt her already questionable verbal skills. She looked about ready to burst into tears. "Brother Neji" only crossed his arms at her distress, completing his sentiment with a pitiless look as he took in her quivering form.

"Your parents called to confirm your flight home."

The statement merely seemed to upset the poor girl further as she jumped to her feet suddenly, unknowingly scattering photos in a messy pile on the floor.

"What the hell?" Kiba questioned, completely at a loss. The question reflected exactly what was running through Naruto's mind.

"No, seriously," Naruto continued when Kiba didn't seem inclined to make any more comments. "Who the hell are you?" He began, pointing to the man still standing in the open doorway. "And why is she hyperventilating at the sight of you?" He finished by moving his pointer finger to where Hinata was in the middle of what appeared to be a panic attack.

The man scoffed, bringing both Naruto's and Kiba's attention fully to him. "Apparently, the girl finally realized the complete disappointment she has become. Although, I can't be certain this is only the result of associating with the failures she naively calls her friends."

From inside, Naruto could hear Kiba choke at the insults. He turned threateningly towards the calm figure, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

As if to infuriate him even more, the man looked completely unfazed at the likelihood of a physical altercation with the blond, explaining blithely, "The lack of character and sound judgment Hinata demonstrated by running off and lying about her whereabouts were clearly the result of your poor influence. One can only hope, after seeing you with my own eyes, that is all she has done to shame her family name."

Naruto was lost. What in the hell was this guy talking about? What lack of character and judgment? Who was shaming whose family name? Seriously, was the man crazy? The confusion didn't stop the indignation.

"Hey, listen here, asshole – "

"Don't talk to Naruto like that!"

Naruto's righteous anger instantly dissipated into incredulity at the shout that had definitely not come from his own mouth. He turned with an open mouth to face his friends. Kiba's eyes were wide as they stared at the normally quiet girl, whose tears had miraculously vanished. Instead, they had been replaced with a determined look neither had ever seen on her.

"Naruto and Kiba had nothing to do with my decision. Don't b-blame this on them." The slight stutter was the only thing that hinted at her nerves.

No one spoke after the comment, all three men equally surprised at the uncharacteristic strength with which she had spoken.

"Hinata…" Naruto trailed off. Quite frankly, he was impressed. And so very touched.

Not caring that he was probably going to make an already awkward situation even worse, he pulled her into a tight hug. The girl's face immediately burst into flames at the proximity. "I'm so glad you're my friend."

He stepped back after a second to wipe the non-existent tear from his eye, holding her at arms length. "I have no idea what the hell this idiot is talking about – shaming your family name – but there can't be anything wrong with someone who stands up for their friends like that."

"I…" The girl was having trouble collecting her thoughts after being flush against Naruto's body only a moment earlier.

"Hinata."

The very brief low-tension moment was over in a flash with the call from the door, as attention returned to their unwelcome visitor.

"Hinata, I'm not joking around. As your cousin, your parents entrusted me with your safety. They asked that I send you home immediately. By force, if I must," Neji explained. "You have already disappointed them enough by lying. I would suggest you stop with the nonsense so we can leave this place."

Naruto bristled at the tone in which "this place" was spoken, as if the man had traveled to hell itself to retrieve his cousin. Wait. Cousin? That made sense, Naruto thought, seeing the family resemblance. Then it hit him: Hinata's cousin! The one Hinata lied to her parents about staying with. No wonder the girl freaked.

Unfortunately, with his interruption, Naruto had successfully stopped whatever drive Hinata had mustered when defending him. The girl had returned to her normal demure self, albeit a less panicky version.

With a bit of questioning, her cousin reluctantly revealed the events that had led to his arrival: Hinata's parents called to confirm the flight details, which had resulted in the discovery they had no idea where their daughter actually was, leading to a frantic search through all her acquaintances and ending in Neji being sent to Naruto's door.

Naruto still found it creepy they knew where to find him. People with money seemed to have everything in their grasp.

Kiba went with Hinata into his room to help her finish packing, leaving Naruto to stand with the irritated man, who'd finally been invited inside, in uncomfortable silence. He couldn't stop glaring at Neji and neither, apparently, could Neji stop glaring at him.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" he finally announced after a steady minute in which neither blinked. Neji didn't acknowledge the comment. Naruto continued nonetheless, "If you give Hinata any problems on the way back, I swear I'll beat the shit out of you. I mean it."

It was infuriating that his attempt at intimidation seemed to have no effect on the man's countenance. He was ready to up the violence of the threat when Kiba walked in carrying Hinata's suitcase, the apologetic girl following behind him.

"All set," he said, placing the suitcase near the front door and then eyeing the two caught in a tense, silent showdown.

Neji was the first to break their eye contact by reaching down to grab the luggage, "Let's go, Hinata."

Hinata nodded, turning to her friends to thank them under the watchful eyes of her cousin. Naruto forced her to promise that she'd report to them if the bastard acted out of line. Despite the earlier display, he didn't entirely believe her when she said she could handle anything he said.

After the uncomfortable parting, Naruto closed the door with a deep sigh of relief and crashed next to Kiba on the couch.

"Is it just me, or was that just the fucking weirdest encounter ever?"

"Straight out of one of those stupid girly dramas," Naruto agreed. He pulled his feet up to rest on the coffee table, only to straighten immediately into a sitting position. He roughly tapped Kiba on the shoulder and received a questioning look for the action. "Hey, can you check me? Do I have anything stuck to me?"

"What?"

"Just look me over. See if I have any asshole magnets glued to me or something."

Kiba laughed, roughly shoving him away.

"Naruto, I think you are the magnet."

* * *

A week later found Naruto standing before a troubled professor. Judging by the look on the man's face, it was clear he was not amused.

Iruka scratched his head absently as he handed the graded assignment back to Naruto, "Er, this wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but I gave you partial credit anyway since I know you actually went to the lecture."

Naruto snatched the paper from the man's hand, shoving it in his bag without another glance. Fuck him, too, he thought. It was Iruka's fault he had to know that the world's biggest fucker even existed in the first place.

It wasn't until after his last class of the day, when he sat down to do homework in the library, that he thought to glance over the paper. He dug through his bag for the assignment, finally finding it wedged between two folders.

As he moved his backpack over to place it on the ground, the bag's edge caught the paper he'd set aside and sent it flying to the floor, where it landed behind someone's sneaker-clad feet. He watched, irritated, as the person chose that exact instant to back up for a better look at the higher shelves, effectively crushing the paper beneath his foot.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, inappropriately loud for the library setting. The person made no move to respond. Unless the guy was deaf, there was no way he hadn't heard him.

"Hey!" He tried again, this time throwing his eraser with excessive strength. It struck the student's back, causing him to sigh wearily and turn slowly in Naruto's direction.

"Yes?" he questioned disinterestedly.

"Can you hand me that paper you're standing on?" Naruto pointed to his wrinkled assignment.

The man followed the line of sight to the paper under his shoes. He let out another sigh before reaching down to pick it up. Naruto held out a hand expectantly, but the other took his time to look over the document. He wanted to snatch the paper from the guy's hands. It wasn't his business to be reading someone else's paper, especially when he had no idea what sorts of comments Iruka had made.

"So you went to that Uchiha lecture, huh?"

Naruto paused suspiciously at the question before answering with a hesitant affirmative.

"I'm glad you yelled at him. I didn't like him either."

Just like that, Naruto's apprehension was gone, replaced with absolute elation at having found a kindred spirit. Neither his roommate nor his visiting friend had understood the severity of his anger when he'd returned from the lecture that night. This guy was his new best friend.

"Hey! Hey! Sit!" Naruto said excitedly, gesturing wildly for the other to take a seat across from him. The other only stood there. "No, really, sit! I'm – "

"Naruto. Yes, I know."

That was creepy. "Oh. How?" Stalker?

The guy let out another sigh at Naruto's question – was he having trouble breathing? – and muttered something under his breath.

"We're in the same philosophy class with Professor Iruka," his new favorite person explained.

"Yeah?" Naruto thought back to the class but was unable to place the face before him. "Sorry, I don't really pay attention in that class." Hopefully he wouldn't offend him before they could properly get to know each other.

"Apparently not. We partnered for discussion last week." The guy offered his hand, using the other to slide the paper onto the table. "I'm Shikamaru."

Naruto took the hand quickly. "I'm not kidding when I say it's nice to meet you. It's such a relief to know not everyone in the world thinks that bastard is a god."

"Uchiha? Not everyone, but almost all," Shikamaru offered, before sliding into the seat Naruto had been pointing at earlier. "It's true that I don't particularly like him, but you have to admit he's done a lot for the world of economics. He was even invited to speak before the UN Economic and Social Council this weekend."

The blond only snorted at the comment. Nothing the bastard did was impressive in the least.

"Who cares," Naruto dismissed the news with a wave of his hand. "What's important is that I finish reading that paper for Iruka's class. Have you done it yet?"

"Haven't even printed it out."

What a guy; they really were kindred spirits. Naruto beamed at him, "Neither have I."

* * *

Naruto didn't leave the library until several hours later.

He spent a good deal of time going over previous readings from their shared class. Despite sleeping through most of the lectures, Shikamaru had been able to answer any question thrown at him, albeit with great detachment. How he managed to do that, Naruto had no idea. It was not a skill he ever hoped to acquire.

The guy complained a lot, but he was a genius, Naruto was sure of it. He didn't understand why he was stuck in this shit hole of a college when he could have gone on to bigger and better things. It made him realize the distance he had left to go before he could make a name for himself, before he could prove the world wrong - that Naruto Uzumaki was not a failure.

It was on his way home from the library that his phone suddenly broke into the upbeat song he'd set as his ring. Pulling it from his pocket, he looked at the caller ID: Sakura. Heart suddenly in his throat, he flipped it open to greet her.

"H-hello?" He smacked himself on the forehead for stuttering. He was supposed to sound cool, damnit.

"Hello, is this Naruto?" Sakura's voice spoke from the other end of the line.

"Yep." Cool. Short. To the point.

"Naruto! Hi, it's me: Sakura."

"Yeah, hi, Sakura," he held the phone away from his mouth to clear his throat, coughing into his other hand before bringing the phone back down. "So, uh, how's it going?"

"Great, actually. Sorry it took me forever to call back."

A week, to be exact, but Naruto wasn't keeping track.

"Oh, no problem. Don't worry about it."

"Hm, actually, I was calling to ask if you were free this weekend. I'll probably be busy next week again and won't get a chance to meet you."

Naruto's heart stopped. Was she asking him out on a date?

"I - sure! Yeah, I'm free Friday night." He hoped he didn't sound as eager as he felt.

"Great, let's go for dinner. We can, oh, let me call you back. I have a call on the other line."

"Sure." It felt like he'd lost several thousand words from his vocabulary. Not that it had been that extensive to begin with.

"I promise it won't take me a week to call back." The girl laughed at her own joke. "Talk to you in a bit, Naruto."

"Yeah, sure. Bye."

Naruto hung up and stared at his phone; call time: 00:00:48. When the conversation finally filtered completely into his brain, he let out a loud whoop, completing the celebratory yell with a jump and a fist pumped high into the air.

He'd just scored a date.

**TBC **

* * *

**Notes:  
**Am I the only one who has really unnecessary attachments to sentences? I felt like I was pulling out my own teeth when I deleted several pages to make this shorter. But if that doesn't help with the slowness everyone keeps commenting on, I'm just going to resign myself to the fact I'm so boring, it's seeping into everything I do…

Anyway, thank you for the reviews! I'm just the slow, uninspired kinda guy, so I apologize in advance if you care enough for me to update again and I don't do it soon enough.

_Edit: 9/26/2011_


	5. Chapter 4

**Previously:** Hinata's lie comes back to bite her in the ass and her cousin, Neji, forces her to go home early. But things start looking up for Naruto as he finally makes a new friend at his (temporary) new school and scores a date with Sakura.

* * *

Chapter Four  
_Something so pleasant_

* * *

Naruto fidgeted nervously with the lint in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his feet as he waited for his date to show. He stood outside the restaurant, scanning the streets for the car he vaguely remembered her climbing into when they first met. He was absurdly early but he wanted to start the date off on the right foot. Punctuality was always a good thing. The website he'd browsed for tips had told him as much.

Of course, Kiba had walked in on him when he'd been engrossed in the embarrassing reading material and proceeded to tease him mercilessly whilst congratulating him on "finally getting a chick to like you back." At least he was supportive when it came to selecting an outfit for the evening.

His semi-formal wear – which actually wasn't all that nice or formal – felt awkward, but it was his own fault for assuming Sakura would appreciate one of the nicer restaurants in the area. The one he'd chosen was high-end and entirely out of his league; he hoped he had enough money for a glass of water.

As his fingers caught hold of a particularly large ball of lint, a nondescript taxi pulled up to the curbside. Had he anticipated that Sakura might not show up in her own car he wouldn't have been so surprised to see the woman emerge from the backseat. He proceeded to watch her smooth down her dress and adjust her hair, and only when the car was driving away did it occur to him he should be greeting her.

"Sakura!" He called as he made his way to her. She looked up at the sound of his voice and smiled when she saw him.

"Hello, Naruto," she greeted when he was standing right before her, tucking a few strands of hair behind one ear. The move revealed the fancy earring dangling from the appendage, looking heavy, sparkly, and pretty damn expensive.

Naruto smiled cheerfully in return, still in awe that someone like her had ever agreed to go out with him. He would have to work hard to not mess this up.

"It's good to see you again," he said as he offered her his arm, inwardly pleased everything seemed off to a great start so far. "But why the taxi? Did your fancy chauffer finally get tired of driving you around?"

Open mouth; insert foot. And so began their date.

Sakura actually stuttered inelegantly in surprise at the comment. The look on her face quickly made him realize his blunder. Feeling every bit the idiot the comment marked him as, he racked his brain for the few tips he'd written down – "dress to impress," "be polite," "ask questions"; damnit, where was the useful advice? Then he remembered the important one: "compliment her appearance!"

"Anyway, you look amazing, Sakura," he rushed, hoping the comment didn't sound too much like an afterthought. At least it was the truth. "Really beautiful."

He tensed slightly when she placed her other hand over the one hooked at Naruto's elbow and grinned playfully at him as her eyes traveled down his figure, taking in his dark slacks and polished shoes.

"Thank you. You clean up nice, too, Naruto," she said. "You look very handsome."

"Of course I do! It took me forever to put this outfit together."

She turned her face away to laugh then, hiding the smile behind a hand. Not understanding what was so funny, Naruto just examined her profile with a stupid grin on his face. It was then he noticed that her eyes were exactly level with his, that she was actually as tall as him. He was surprised he didn't notice it before, except for the fact that this was the first time they were standing so close.

His gaze drifted down to the flashy heels strapped to her feet. Those shoes were monstrously tall.

"How can you wear those?" He asked tactlessly, not realizing his other foot was about to join the first in his mouth. "You're like a giant!"

And in it went. He should've expected the fist that came crashing into his shoulder. Truthfully, he had – just not within the first five minutes of his date.

* * *

With the awkward start, dinner proceeded to be exceedingly awkward.

He'd stepped on the back of Sakura's shoes as he followed her into the restaurant after holding the door for her, causing her to stumble gracelessly into the building. Then there had been the momentary confusion as the waiter attempted to pull Sakura's chair for her when Naruto had assumed it to be his job.

When they'd finally been seated, Naruto had browsed the list of dishes, not recognizing a single name, and ordered the cheapest thing on it. He had no idea what Sakura ordered. The waiter left with their menus, and the two lapsed into silence.

"So…" Naruto trailed off to clear his throat, fingers tinkering with the silverware resting on the table as his leg bounced in jittery nervousness. In any other situation, he'd already be talking the girl's ear off but he'd lost his confidence after his knack for offending her and his clumsy attempts at being a gentleman. It didn't help that Sakura was fairly intimidating.

"So…" he tried again. "You been here before?"

"A few times," Sakura answered as her eyes roamed distantly over the restaurant. Unlike Naruto, her hands were still on the tabletop. Instead, she played uncertainly with her jewelry, twisting one ring in slow circles around her finger.

Naruto nodded. "I see."

Silence befell them once again. Naruto, for his part, wasn't sure how to liven the stagnant conversation. He didn't want to offend her again; there was likely a bruise forming on his shoulder where she'd hit him. That, and he wasn't sure what would interest the girl. There was the age difference. There was the class difference. There were a whole slew of differences, actually. He thought – hoped – that maybe that was the same reason Sakura was also quiet.

They'd had such a nice connection when they'd first met. Or when they second met. He tried to recall what they'd discussed that had made the outing so comfortable. Maybe it was the environment. Ichiraku Ramen was a hundred times more relaxing than this stuffy, high-class restaurant. He distinctly recalled that Sakura had been looser then, as well. Less like the proper lady she held herself now, sitting across from him stiffly and politely.

Naruto forced his hands still and reached for his glass to take quick, heavy gulps of the ice-cold water. The silence was awkward. Someone had to say something or he would explode. Ask questions, the date website had advised, and ask questions he shall.

"Anyway, do you work, Sakura?"

Sakura looked startled at the question, brows rising slightly as she thought about what to say. "Work? I… Not really, I don't." She smiled then, realizing it wasn't much of an answer.

Naruto was confused. The girl must be really loaded if she didn't need to work. For once, he knew better than to let the comment burst out. "And you're not in school, either?"

"No, I finished school a long time ago. Well, not that long ago. Just a few years."

Naruto tried to calculate how many years ago she'd likely have graduated but quickly grew bored of it. "So if you're not working and you're not going to school, you must have a lot of free time on your hands, huh? That'd feel pretty nice right about now. I'm ready to put the academic life behind me."

Sakura laughed, "I remember thinking that, too. Trust me, having nothing to do does get boring after a while."

He considered her comment for a moment, realizing that, yeah, he probably wouldn't enjoy sitting around at home doing absolutely nothing. He was an action kind of guy – liked to be out and doing things.

"Yeah, I guess I can see that," he consented. "So, what did you study? You seem like you'd major in fashion design or something. Or English. I dunno."

"English?" At his nod, she frowned slightly. "That's the first time anyone's guessed that. Actually, I was a biochem major. Pre-med. It was my dream to be a doctor since I was little."

To say the news surprised Naruto would be an understatement. "Really?" Sakura did not strike him as someone who would be interested in school, what with her high maintenance appearance. Chemistry was hard. Hell, Biology was hard. And Sakura actually chose to do a combination of both? Naruto was feeling a lot dumber all of a sudden.

"So, what happened? Why didn't you go to medical school if it was your dream?"

The smile on her face was decidedly nostalgic as her eyes dropped down to her hands. How had the conversation turned from non-existent to serious just like that? "I did go, actually. For a year. But I dropped out a month into the second year."

"What? Why?"

"It just wasn't the right thing for me at the moment. Something else came up, and I chose to leave school for it." Before Naruto could ask her to explain, she continued with a question of her own. "What about you, Naruto? What are you studying right now?"

The question derailed Naruto from his thoughts. Even someone as dense as Naruto could see that Sakura had enjoyed her studies, what with the wistful look on her face when she'd told him her dream. Instead of pursuing the topic, he decided to let the flow of the conversation move naturally.

"Uh, well, I'm a philosophy major but I have no idea what I want to do with it when I graduate. I just know I want to be something great." He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, as he grinned at her from across the table. "I've got a long way to go, though."

Sakura smiled encouragingly, laughing good-naturedly at his less than original dream. "Well, we all have to start somewhere."

Naruto nodded in agreement. He wouldn't let a little (or, perhaps, very large, considering) setback like suspension hold him back from his goals. It was to the newly pleasant atmosphere that the waiter arrived with their food. The meal progressed smoothly then, the awkwardness broken by Naruto's retelling of crazy high school escapades and Sakura's teasing attempts to freak Naruto out with horror stories from her time volunteering in the ER.

"And when they wheeled in the guy who got hit by a train – "

"Sakura! Stop! I don't want to hear it!" Naruto childishly clapped his hands over his ears as she laughed. He only removed them when she was wiping the tears from her eyes.

"But you're so easy to mess with, Naruto," she said through another giggle. "I never thought you'd be the squeamish type."

"I don't care. I thought you weren't supposed to talk about stuff like that over dinner!" He complained, not caring in the least for his manly pride. He was actually feeling queasy.

At the slightly green look on his face, the girl finally acquiesced. "Alright, alright," she held her hands up in surrender. "I'll stop with the stories. You can tell me more about your adventurous life as the world's greatest prankster," she urged, quoting his own words back at him.

Queasiness instantly forgotten, Naruto straightened up at the chance to keep the gruesome mental images at bay and launched into what he hoped would be an entertaining story of his time in the martial arts club. It wasn't the greatest stunt, but Kiba occasionally still laughed in remembrance of it and Sakura did seem mildly amused, laughing softly at his excitement.

"So how long have you been into martial arts?" she asked when Naruto finally stopped chortling at the memory.

"Eh? How long?" He held his chin in his hand as he thought back to the club. Kiba had been a member first, and had urged him to join later. He'd finally given in, even though he'd hated the captain. "Uh… I didn't join the club until my third year, actually. But I'd been practicing since I was a lot younger."

"So you must be pretty good."

"I guess. But it's been a while. Haven't really been able to practice. No one really to practice with. Lately, Kiba's been busy with his thesis."

Sakura grinned at him, "Well, if you're ever looking for a sparring partner, I can probably help you out."

"What? You know someone?"

"I do," she declared, pointing proudly to herself. "Me!"

There was a moment of silence while Naruto processed the declaration before he burst into raucous laughter, slapping his hand loudly on the table despite their surroundings. "Haha! Sakura, haha, that's a really good one! Haha!"

It took a few minutes to sober up and when he did, he didn't fail to notice the dark look on Sakura's face. "What?" he asked in a voice still thick with amusement, hands brushing the wetness from his cheeks. "You're not serious, are you? You're joking, right?"

The look on her face darkened considerably. "Does it look like I'm joking?"

"Uh…" Naruto hesitated, sensing another foot-in-mouth moment. She looked dainty, not at all like the few bulky girls that had been members of the club in high school. But then, the girl did hit hard. Really hard. Actually, it would explain quite a bit. "Uh…"

Naruto was saved from her wrath by the arrival of their waiter. The man placed the bill down before them, sliding it discretely closer to Naruto. When the blond glanced at Sakura, she had completely transformed, smiling politely at the waiter as he spoke to her. The girl was crazy; there was no other explanation for her mood swings.

"Anyway," she said petulantly once the man left their table. "You wouldn't be able to stand up to me even if you tried."

Naruto just nodded his head; self-preservation was more important than his ego at the moment.

"But," she continued, "If you ever want to get back into practice, I have a friend that owns a martial arts center on the other side of town. You should stop by and give it a shot. He'd probably love to have you join."

The blond just shrugged his shoulders as he reached for the bill, "I don't know if I could afford it, to be entirely honest."

Sakura dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand, "No, no. I'll tell him you're a friend. He loves people with spirit – with 'youth,' as he calls it."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue further, he wouldn't feel comfortable taking freebies, after all, when he flipped the bill open. When he saw their total for the night, his eyes unconsciously widened, nearly popping out of their sockets in surprise.

He snapped the cover closed and grinned shakily at Sakura when she looked at him expectantly. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and flipped through the bills. He'd expected the date to be expensive but even despite his preparation he was short by a lot. No, not just a lot, but fucking most of it. It looked like he didn't have enough for his water after all, let alone the movie he'd planned for afterwards.

"What's wrong," Sakura questioned when Naruto flipped the wallet closed and began to chew his lips nervously.

"Uh." How to explain this without looking like a complete loser? "I'm going to run to the bank real quick."

Way to go, Naruto, he congratulated himself mockingly. That wasn't obvious. At the statement, Sakura only nodded gently in understanding. Before Naruto could put a hand on the bill holder, she'd pulled it to her to glance at the amount they owed. She considered him for a moment before reaching for her purse.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Naruto asked, face flaming at the thought of her paying for the meal.

"Don't worry, Naruto. This is my treat. I asked you out, so I should pay," she explained. "I don't mind."

"W-what? No!" Naruto almost dove across the table to rip the bill from her hands, but he'd only made it halfway across when his face was met with the flat of her hand. He stopped short, arms outstretched, face burning from the impact. He pulled back quickly to cradle his face, "Ah! Sakura! That hurt!"

Busy rubbing his face tenderly, Naruto missed when the waiter came by to collect the bill and was surprised when the man returned for Sakura to sign the receipt. That was almost too quick - Naruto would know; he was a waiter too.

"Wait, what just happened?" Naruto asked apprehensively. Sakura just smiled smugly as she signed her name, clicking her pen with a finality that felt like a stake through his heart. He hung his head dejectedly, embarrassed beyond belief.

"It's okay, Naruto. Really," his date tried to console him as they made their way out of the restaurant. "I owed you dinner from before, anyway."

Naruto just slumped his shoulders further, unable to look the girl in the eye. He'd failed his first date, and they hadn't even made it halfway through it. As it were, Naruto barely felt like watching the film anyway. They'd walked a short distance before Sakura stopped, pulling at his arm to get his attention.

"Look, Naruto. If it bothers you that much, just make sure you don't pick such an expensive place next time. I like all kinds of food, you know."

Was the girl trying to rub salt in his wounds? "There's not going to be a next time," he resentfully admitted, bitterness heavy in his heart.

The words seemed to surprise Sakura as she pulled away from him suddenly. "Why not?"

He held back the glare, really irritated that she'd drag it out of him, to be so explicit. "Because," he said sourly, "I doubt you're going to want to go out with a loser like me again."

A solid minute passed as Sakura simply stared at him. Her mouth opened, closed, opened again. She looked like a fish. Finally a hand came to slap against her forehead and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Naruto, you really are an idiot."

* * *

It wasn't until a week later that, at Sakura's insistence, Naruto stopped by the martial arts center. The girl was demanding; it was nearly impossible to refuse her after she made up her mind and after learning of Naruto's intense interest in the sport, she wouldn't let the subject drop. He felt uncomfortable with the idea of taking advantage of his apparent connections, but Sakura had forced a promise out of him.

And so that Friday evening, instead of meeting with Sakura, who had been exasperatingly difficult to get a hold of again, he stood before the unremarkable building and stared up at the equally unremarkable sign.

"'The Heavenly Gates of Youth Martial Arts Center,'" Naruto read to himself. Flashy was an understatement. Honestly, he would be a little embarrassed saying the name if someone ever asked him where he went. With one last skeptical look at the sign, Naruto pushed in through the door. He was met with a small reception area. There was no one at the desk, however.

"Hello?" He called, wondering if he should just walk in. He could faintly hear sounds coming from the back and from his vantage point at the front desk, could see a matted room beyond the last door. Maybe Sakura's friend was in there.

When no reply came from his call, he shrugged his shoulders and followed the sounds to the back. Sakura had told him her friend was expecting him. The entryway opened up to a considerably larger room, closed off on three sides by sliding screen doors. Only one person was in the room, standing at the center. Naruto removed his shoves to step onto the mat, placing them in the shoe rack to the side of the door.

He took a moment to watch the dark-haired man flow through his moves, actions strong yet graceful. He was fairly impressive. Actually, he was more than fairly impressive. The movements were efficient, skilled, almost beautiful in their elegance. Every hit was marked by a soft grunt – punches fierce, kicks delivered with precision, turns executed fluidly, and the transition between use of the wooden sword and bare hands was flawless.

Naruto was in awe.

Feeling excited at the idea of training with someone at that level, Naruto almost skipped as he made his way further into the room. This had to be the owner. Who else would be practicing here alone?

"Excuse me!" he called eagerly, approaching the man's back. At the sound of his voice, the movements slowed before the stranger came to a complete stop.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Rock Lee," Naruto explained as the man began turning to face him. "Do you know where – AGH!"

He broke off into an unmanly shriek when he was met with familiar cold, dark eyes. Naruto had only seen that face once, but he would never forget it ever again. Not as long as the burning hatred for the man blazed fiercely within him. Naturally, he responded the only way he knew how to his archenemy's presence.

"Holy fuck!" He screamed, eyes wide and mouth struggling to work in his shock. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sasuke Uchiha stood before him, watching him blankly as Naruto continued to make a fool of himself, moving his hands in vague gestures of disgusted surprise.

"Seriously, what the fuck is going on here? Did you kill the guy? Is that why you're here? I swear, if you did anything to him, I'll…" Naruto shook his fist threateningly.

His mindless rant actually managed to confuse the man, if the twitch in one brow indicated anything. Or maybe the twitch meant he was irritated? Naruto had no idea. Honestly, he didn't care what the hell it meant. He just wanted to find that Rock Lee guy and get the hell out of here. Before he could continue with another round of ridiculous accusations, his number one enemy furrowed his brows as he regarded the hyperventilating blond calmly.

"Do I know you?"

No other response could have riled Naruto as much as that simple question, even if it had been asked with honest, innocent confusion – which Naruto didn't buy for a second. Instead, he viewed it as the most offensive taunt conceivable; the person he had been passionately hating for weeks now didn't remember him or their catastrophic encounter. Embarrassment rushed over him at the thought he'd even been admiring this guy's moves only moments before. It was too much for his pride.

"You're going to know me real soon," Naruto growled menacingly as he roughly removed his jacket from his shoulders and tossed it to the ground, "as the guy who ripped off your fucking head!"

It was all the warning he gave – more than any warning he should've given, actually – before he launched himself completely at Sasuke. His opponent dodged the incoming fist easily and side-stepped the kick that followed just as smoothly. Naruto didn't stop there. Instead, he rounded on him with another kick, bringing his knee up to strike the man's abdomen but was blocked by Sasuke's arm. He didn't expect the return kick, taking it in the side before breaking away.

The two faced each other, Naruto panting in anger, Sasuke's demeanor unchanged, before Naruto once again charged. This time, Sasuke met the attack head on, moving on the offensive so Naruto was left with either blocking or dodging the sudden barrage of attacks.

The difference in skill became apparent very soon into the fight. Despite the physical demands of his second job – which hardly qualified as an adequate workout – Naruto had done nothing in the past year that could be considered regular exercise. His own moves lacked the finesse Sasuke's carried. It quickly became apparent who would emerge the winner.

But Naruto was nothing if not determined. Rather than forfeit like he should have, he only struck more wildly, aiming directly for Sasuke's face. The man had apparently not expected the poor sportsmanship but ducked back instinctively, just narrowly managing to avoid the incoming blow. He retaliated in kind, striking Naruto's jaw with a clenched fist in what was nothing more than a move taken straight from a street-side brawl.

It hurt like a bitch.

The sound of metal against tooth was loud in Naruto's ears and he drew back in surprise, eyes wide as he pressed a tentative hand gently to his torn, bleeding lip. He stared in shock at the man who stood a safe distance away, breathing only slightly heavier than before, knuckles bleeding slightly. His eyes traveled down to Sasuke's hand, noticing the glint of metal. The blood was clearly Naruto's.

"What the hell?" Naruto cried indignantly, pointing his free hand at the other in complete astonishment. "Are you stupid? Not wearing any jewelry is the most basic rule in sparring! Fuck, you almost broke my tooth!"

Sasuke looked down at his hand, taking in the blood from Naruto's lip, before turning his eyes back to his fuming opponent.

"Sparring? I thought you were trying to 'rip my head off'?"

"You know what I mean!" Naruto replied in exasperation, throwing his hands up in defeat.

Even though he didn't have to declare the fight his loss, the punch was more than humiliating. By all accounts, Sasuke had had him thoroughly beat. He almost laughed when he recalled threatening to beat the guy up, realizing now he was lucky the potential fight had been intercepted by a security guard. Losing to him in private was one thing, but losing in public would have been disastrous. For Naruto's ego, anyway.

"Fuck! This hurts!" He gingerly prodded the area around the cut, pulling his hand back to glance down at his bloody fingers. He glanced around at the screen doors, seeing no obvious exits other than the one he'd entered through. "Where the hell is the bathroom?"

It took a moment, during which Naruto quietly began to seethe, thinking no answer was forthcoming, when the quiet voice floated to him.

"In the back."

The response cut his growing ire short but left him with nothing but more confusion. He glanced around the room again and, again, found no obvious exit.

"Got it," he mumbled through the hand held against his bleeding lip. Determined to avoid asking for additional help, Naruto continued his silent search around the room. However, short of walking to from one end of the room to the other, it was unlikely he would be able to find the door without further embarrassment under Sasuke's watchful eyes. He finally gave in, "Okay, so where's the back?"

Not expecting any help from the bastard, he was surprised to actually receive an answer – if the quiet sigh and signal for him to follow could be called such. Withholding any negative remarks, Naruto followed silently to one corner of the room where the man slid open a non-descript screen door and revealed a small hallway.

"Wow, you're actually going to walk me there?" he asked as he passed through the doorway. Sasuke only held up a bloody hand in reply. Naruto frowned at the action, for once quick to understand the nonverbal language; had Sasuke not needed to wash his hands as well, Naruto would have been on his own.

Following the man past unmarked doors, Naruto couldn't help but wonder just what he had gotten himself into by following Sakura's demands. Sasuke had been the absolute last person he would have expected to find at this dingy location. However, the man had be a regular here, if he knew his way around the back so easily. Overflowing with questions, he finally gave into the urge to speak.

"Hey," he started, genuinely curious. "Do you come here often?"

If Sasuke really was a permanent fixture at this center, Naruto had half a mind to just turn around and walk right out without bothering to meet Rock Lee. He fantasized that he might even muster enough courage to tell Sakura to fuck off if she ever brought it up again.

It was nice to dream, at least.

Sasuke tossed him a look over his shoulder at the question, a narrow-eyed look Naruto immediately bristled at, and confirmed his fears with a simple, "Yes."

"Great," Naruto muttered to himself, not pleased at all with this turn of events. Despite his misgivings, he knew he had to stay. He had promised Sakura he would make an honest effort to meet her friend and while he questioned the kind of people she might surround herself with - he still remembered the unfriendly blond girl from their first encounter – he refused to pass judgment on someone he had yet to meet.

"So you know Rock Lee, right? What's he like?" He asked, hoping to get a few pointers about the man before he met him.

But apparently Sasuke had reached his threshold for speaking for the day because he didn't answer again. Rather than yell like he normally would, Naruto simply sulked, sending angry glares at the man's back. Besides, talking made his lip hurt.

After what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence, they made it to the locker room. Naruto made for the sink to rinse his mouth with cold water. The water stung but he continued to splash his face and spit into the sink to get rid of the blood. Sasuke followed at a more leisurely pace, stopping two sinks away from him to wash the blood from his knuckles.

By the time Naruto was done washing his face, he noticed Sasuke had already left. The act only irritated him further. He reached for a paper towel to help slow the blood flow and stomped out of the room. He managed to make his way back to the practice room with relative ease and found his nemesis busy packing his bag.

"Hey, asshole," he called out, but the man ignored him. Looked like it was back to ignoring Naruto's existence. It was the last straw.

With a loud battle cry, he dove without warning - a futile attempt at surprise, really, when he had just announced his presence - directly for the man's back, apparently not having yet learned his lesson from any of his previous attempts. In the blink of an eye, he found his body frozen in the stance, wrist in a tight grasp as he stared into Sasuke's face up close, the other also caught in his own attack stance.

His eyes traveled to the hand around his wrist, following the very brightly clothed arm to wide eyes framed by a bowl cut.

"GAH!" He cried in shock, falling back and stumbling before falling painfully on his ass. He stared in surprise at the newcomer, taking in his eccentric appearance. The man's body was covered in a bright green jumpsuit, tight as spandex, arms and legs covered with what could only be leg- and arm-warmers - but they were orange! When he jerked his eyes away from the atrocious sight, he finally noticed the fourth person, who had a hold of Sasuke.

"It's you!"

He pointed in surprise at the other newcomer. It was none other than Hinata's cousin from the other week – Neji? He couldn't stop blinking, brows raised well past his hairline. "What the absolute, holy fuck? Is this the rendezvous point for assholes or something?"

Hinata's cousin threw him a glare before letting Sasuke go. The other man brushed his captor off roughly as soon as the grip loosened. He sniffed disdainfully at the three, barely even glancing at the one on the floor.

"Hn. I'm leaving."

With that, he was out the door, leaving the remaining three in awkward silence. The silence was broken by the bowl-cut man's cheerful voice, "Goodnight, my friend! It was a pleasure to see you briefly!"

He then turned to Naruto, still sitting on the floor, and offered his hand, which Naruto hesitantly took. He wondered if this man, too, was an asshole like the others.

"I am sorry for disrupting your youthful display! But I wanted so much to meet you. You are Naruto, are you not?" the man questioned, smiling so brightly at Naruto that he swore he could see his teeth sparkle. When the blond nodded hesitantly, the strange man continued. "I have heard many things about you and I am very pleased that you have finally come to my dojo. I am Rock Lee."

Naruto shook the extended hand, staring speechlessly at the man. This was Sakura's friend? This strangely dressed, weird looking, overly friendly man?

"I see that you have already met my acquaintance here, Neji." So he had remembered the name correctly. "He and Sasuke are regulars here, as I hope that you soon will be too."

"Uh, right."

The conversation was nothing if not uncomfortable. Naruto was slightly in awe at the physical appearance of Sakura's friend. Neji's presence didn't help the awkwardness; the man had been watching Naruto like a hawk the minute he'd let Sasuke go. Like he was trying to kill him with his eyes alone. Naruto shivered at the thought.

However, he discovered that Lee was a nice guy, if not a little weird. He was actually pretty excited to return after watching his and Neji's demonstrative spar. Grudgingly, he admitted that Neji was pretty good as well. What was with him and challenging people whose current skill exceeded his own? No wonder Neji had seemed unimpressed when he'd threatened him too.

When he made it home, Kiba was sitting at the kitchen table typing furiously at his laptop. Books were scattered all around him on the table, papers in an absolute mess. He took one look at Naruto's face and almost fell out of his chair.

"What the hell happened to your face? Did you get mugged?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, just ran into an asshole, is all."

He ignored Kiba's skeptical look, leaving his roommate to his work as he made his way to his own room. He could still picture the asshole's face, too, and for once the image made him grin. He may be out of practice now, but with a little bit of regular exercise and practice, he would soon have the other begging for mercy.

The thought only widened his grin. That would really be the day! As he let his imagination run wild with the idea, he threw his head back and let his laughter echo about the room.

From outside his room came Kiba's angry voice.

"Shut the hell up, you freak! I'm trying to work here!"

Naruto obliged. It was only a matter of time, after all. Only a matter of time.

**TBC**

* * *

**Notes:  
**Although not romantic, at least there's finally some sasunaru interaction. But I _am_ getting there! Thanks for being patient with me. Also, I know nothing about martial arts, so please feel free to correct me when I blatantly start talking out of my ass.

_Edit: 11/28/2011_


	6. Chapter 5

**Previously:** Naruto goes on a somewhat unsuccessful first date with Sakura. Afterwards, he finally gets to physically vent his feelings (of hate) for the elusive Sasuke Uchiha by means of an intense sparring match. In the process, he meets a weirdo called Lee and gets semi-reacquainted with the asshole Neji.

* * *

Chapter Five_  
Assumptions and facts_

* * *

Naruto knew of only two kinds of people: winners and losers.

Until recently, he had resolutely believed he fell into the former category, and if one believed it as determinedly as he did then naturally it would likely be – or, at the very least, eventually become – true. It didn't occur to him until just then, as he landed heavily on his back with a resounding smack, that he should probably reconsider that notion.

He glared up from his position on the floor at the man who had tossed him so easily over one shoulder. Despite his earlier determination at besting this man, Sasuke had proven to be a formidable opponent.

Realizing how much he missed the sport, Naruto had made a point to return to Lee's academy as often as he could. He'd somehow managed to make it every night since the first – in between classes, work, and what little studying he needed. And even if it was only the first week of the hectic schedule, he felt it was a commitment he could handle.

But in doing so, he had quickly discovered Sasuke's practice schedule as well; the man was always there during evenings. Granted, Lee taught in the morning and evenings were the only time any of them could visit the dojo freely. It had irked him to no end, walking in on the man's practice again and, like a repeat of the first night, he'd challenged him – after first ensuring all the man's accessories had been removed; his lip was still swollen from the hit he'd taken the other night.

He had lost. But to simply say he had been thoroughly beat would be to grossly underestimate the severity of Naruto's defeat. Even if he didn't want to admit it, there were limits to what even he could achieve through determination alone, and the situation was quickly becoming routine. Yet, he stubbornly refused to reassess his significance in the world. He was not a loser, and never would be.

"Fuck you," Naruto swore at his sparring partner as he climbed slowly to his feet, grumpily brushing his clothing off.

"So you've been saying," came Sasuke's offhand reply.

Before Naruto could act on the indignation in the pit of his stomach, Lee clapped to get their attention.

"That was an excellent match, my friends!" The green-clad martial artist declared as he made his way over to the two standing with potent tension between them. "Sparring with Sasuke has truly been a great help to you, Naruto. You have already improved so much!"

Naruto wasn't one to brag – he didn't see it as bragging so much as proudly declaring facts – but he had been a fairly competitive athlete in high school and won often. Seeing how far behind he'd fallen from his previous skills, it didn't feel like he'd improved at all.

"But he's still horrible."

Apparently, Sasuke agreed. Lee wisely placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, squeezing it slightly to calm the tension in his muscles.

"Naruto, why don't you take a quick break? Then you and I can practice in a bit."

Shaking the hand from his shoulder, Naruto consented to the idea with a grunt, eyes trailing Sasuke's trek to the opposite side of the room where he resumed working through his forms alone.

Needless to say, relations between Naruto and Sasuke had not improved in the slightest. No words were exchanged between the two other than insulting jibes and greetings or, during practice, the occasional instructions from Sasuke – "Don't leave your side open." "Feet farther apart." "Extend your arm more." – and Naruto's mature response to them – "Shut up!"

During breaks, Naruto talked to Lee only; Neji was still on his ignore list as well. He was lucky he only had to deal with one of them that night, seeing as Neji hadn't shown that night. The man's absence didn't concern Naruto, but it made for a good conversation starter.

"So, where's the other asshole?" he asked Lee as the other took a seat beside him on the mat.

"Do you mean Neji?" Lee clarified, wide, round eyes staring at Naruto from under the straight cut of his bangs. "I believe he said he had a business project to complete. But don't worry, he should be back tomorrow."

Naruto laughed good-naturedly. "No, no. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less about the guy. I was just asking."

"I see."

"But what I don't understand," he went on, "is how a nice guy like you got stuck with two jerks like them."

Lee returned Naruto's smile easily despite the harsh words, knowing exactly which "two jerks" he was talking about. "I understand that they may be difficult when you first meet them, but I would not call it 'stuck with.' On the contrary, I am very honored to be considered a friend of theirs. In fact, I have known Neji since high school and even considered him a rival for some time."

He turned to look Naruto in the eye and said with sincerity, "And that is why I understand your desire to defeat Sasuke!"

Naruto's good humor instantly vanished at the mention of the hated man and crossed his arms in defiance as a scowl settled on his face, "Don't even mention his name to me!"

His bushy-browed friend ignored his disgust, and instead continued on the same line of thought, "My wise teacher once told me that having a rival can bring out the best in a man."

At this, he nodded sagely to himself, already agreeing with the advice. Naruto only continued to scowl; as if he would willingly attribute whatever miniscule improvements he'd made so far to that asshole. He threw another glance at Sasuke, watching the man work through his stances with enviable grace, before turning away again. He narrowed his eyes when he met Lee's expectant gaze.

"Don't compare me to that guy."

Lee's face turned serious at the remark, taking on a slightly curious expression as his thick brows furrowed slightly. "I have been meaning to ask you for some time now, Naruto, if you don't mind. But why do you dislike Neji and Sasuke?"

Describing his feelings for Sasuke as mere "dislike" felt horrifyingly inadequate, but he didn't push it even if he didn't understand how Lee could actually like him, either of them, but Sasuke more so than Neji.

"Because they're assholes," he stated simply, believing it to be reason enough. "Especially Sasuke."

Lee followed Naruto's glare and watched in silence before commenting lightly, "I would have to disagree with you there. They are both very impressive individuals. You should give them a chance."

Nevermind the fact that neither Sasuke nor Neji had given Naruto a chance, making snap judgments about his character and assuming them to be fact. He would be damned if he let the uncivil treatment go.

"Yeah, whatever," Naruto brushed the comment off as he rose to his feet, clapping his hands clean and then beckoning for his friend to stand as well. "Let's just get back to practice! I have to leave early tonight. Got an early class tomorrow morning."

"Yes, let us practice," Lee rose to his feet and then faced off against Naruto. "Now that I think about it, I have not yet had a chance to spar with you."

"Less talk, more fight, Lee!" Naruto challenged. It was all the prompting he needed to give; Lee sprung into action before the sentence was even complete. As he'd imagined, and had been demonstrated earlier, Lee's skills rivaled those of Neji and Sasuke's. If anything, he seemed faster and Naruto had difficulty holding his own.

Even so, his inevitable defeat to Lee didn't burn quite so strongly as it did when he lost to Sasuke. He even walked home with a grin, feeling content.

* * *

At eight in the morning the next day, Naruto was seated in what had been christened his usual spot beside Shikamaru at the back of the classroom. Shikamaru's head was down, the student fast asleep, but that was nothing unusual. But on time for several classes in a row, Naruto's presence had once again pleasantly surprised the professor.

Naruto's body ached in the satisfying way only an intense workout could provide. Despite the physical demands of his late night excursions, he felt energetic and ready for the day. Unfortunately, that energy didn't easily translate into mental concentration; it didn't make listening to Iruka, or any of his other teachers, any easier. When classes were finally out, he was none to happy to leave campus and head home.

Even with the slight change, his life felt extremely monotonous lately: school, work, practice, and repeat. True, he'd never had more commitments than that, or even been all that busy to begin with, but he seemed to recall having more people in his life that demanded his attention. Having nothing better to do, he took a nap and woke early, well rested, for his evening shift at the restaurant.

He walked to the restaurant slowly, hands buried in his pockets and gaze fixed on the ground before him. The lack of attention to his surroundings inevitably caused him to bump into someone walking in the other direction. Naruto stumbled back and threw his hands out instinctively to catch his balance, apology ready on his lips before he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Oh! Naruto!"

Naruto glanced up then, recognizing his professor. "Oh, hey there, Professor Iruka," he greeted, hesitating awkwardly between a respectful nod and a polite wave. "It's surprising to see you outside of class."

"Isn't it? I was actually just heading over to meet a friend for dinner."

He mentally sighed at the man's response; it seemed that even his professor had more of a social life than him. "That's cool. I'm on my way to work."

"Oh? Where are you working?"

"Do you know that new restaurant that opened a couple of months ago? By the water?"

"Ah, yes, yes, I know it. I haven't been there yet, but I heard it is nice."

"Eh, it's okay. The service is great, though," he said, grinning slightly.

Iruka laughed at the lame joke, "I'm sure it is, if you're working there. I'll have to check it out sometime."

There was a lull in the conversation, in which Naruto contemplated excusing himself even though he was still early. He wasn't used to speaking with his professors in such a casual setting – he barely even spoke to them when he was in class. Busy trying to think of a polite excuse to get away, he almost missed when his professor continued speaking.

"How has the semester been treating you, Naruto? You just transferred, correct?"

Naruto thought about his classes. He was doing okay, not exceptional, but at least he was passing. "Uh, yeah. It's been good, I guess. Shikamaru's been helping me out with some of the readings for your class."

"Shikamaru? Ah, yes, that boy knows his stuff." He glanced down at his watch as Naruto nodded in agreement, before looking up with an apologetic look. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get going. It was nice to run into you, Naruto. Don't hesitate to stop by my office if you have any questions about the class or anything in general. I love talking with my students."

Naruto nodded, raising a hand as his professor walked on. Iruka had always struck him as a nice man; it was a bit of a relief to know he had been right to assume so. The man seemed nothing like his previous professors - especially not Mizuki, who hadn't cared for the well being of his students in the least.

It was unfortunate he hadn't known him at that time, or his situation may have been different now. Naruto shook his head to clear away those thoughts before slapping his cheeks lightly. Thinking about what could have been wouldn't save him from his current predicament. When he made it to the restaurant, he changed quickly and joined the other staff in the kitchen until the waiter before him got off his shift.

Work was slow. Maybe because it was nearing the end of the school year, and students were busy preparing for finals. Then again, not many students frequented the restaurant he worked at in the first place. Whatever the reason, he found himself passing time at the back playing games on his cell.

The end of his shift couldn't have come soon enough. As he stepped out into the warm night air, he wondered if he had time to make it to Lee's dojo. Then he factored in the time it would take to gather his training clothes and walk to the building. By the time he made it there, Lee would probably be on his way out.

Naruto sighed, realizing he had nothing better to do than go straight home. Hands in his pockets, Naruto walked in the direction of his apartment at the same pace he'd walked to work, taking in the sights of the nightlife around him.

Even though it was a weekday, there was an abundance of life around him. Couples, families, friends, all out together for an evening of entertainment. He glanced through one restaurant window on his way past, taking in smiling and laughing faces within. It reminded him that he had nothing to go home to. Other than Kiba, that is. But roommates were different than loved ones, even if said roommate was a cherished friend.

Passing a particularly pretentious-looking restaurant, Naruto faltered in his step when his gaze landed on a familiar figure, sitting stiff as a board at one table. It was Neji, seated beside a dark-haired girl he didn't recognize. The blond unconsciously scowled at the sight of them. Not only his professor, but that jerk too had more of a social life than he did?

His eyes followed the table to the other side, and his mouth fell open in surprise at the person sitting across Hinata's cousin. It was none other than his arch nemesis, Sasuke.

The first thought that flittered through his head was wonder that the man had a social life too. He was practically a rock around both Lee and Neji. His eyes swung back to Neji, in shock that his enemy was out with the man he hadn't shown any particular liking to. Neji was the pebble to Sasuke's rock; while having an equally plain and unapproachable personality, his presence was less demanding and oppressive than Sasuke's. The two were hardly friendly to one another as far as Naruto could tell from his short time at Lee's.

Unconsciously, he assessed Sasuke's side of the table, taking in the empty seat beside the man. There was a glass of water resting before it, along with an empty dinner plate. Had someone come with Sasuke as well? He couldn't help but wonder who could possibly want to sit beside him. Apparently, there were people stupid enough to want to do so.

Naruto scowled at the empty seat. If the person liked Sasuke, it was more than likely that Naruto wouldn't like the person either.

Just then, Sasuke's head turned towards the window and without thinking, Naruto impulsively ducked from the man's sight. Crouching there, and wondering why the hell he was crouching there – it wasn't as if he was stalking them or anything – Naruto decided it was the last straw. If those two could have social outings, then Naruto too could have them.

He pulled out his cell and scrolled through the phonebook. There weren't many options for him at the moment. He'd lost touch with his acquaintances from his other school, leaving only a small handful of people who would be willing to meet him on such short notice.

Hinata was quickly crossed off his list as a potential hang out buddy. She wasn't even in the same city. He ended up calling Kiba first.

"Drinks? Sorry, man, you know I can't. I'm so fucking stressed out. The draft for my thesis is due next week!"

Sighing his understanding, Naruto hung up and flipped through the names again. When Lee's name came up, he paused, wondering if they were close enough yet to get together. Thinking there was nothing to lose, and Lee seemed a friendly enough guy, he made the call anyway.

Lee was quick to disappoint.

"Sorry, Naruto. I'm really not very good with alcohol."

Figured. He scrolled further down the names, hesitating when he came across Sakura. It was late, he was still unsure of their status as friends, and he honestly wasn't too comfortable with going out with her for casual drinks. In the end, he swallowed his pride and called anyway. The hesitation had been for naught; she didn't even answer.

Naruto sighed again, this time in resignation. There wasn't anyone left to call, but he continued to scroll through the list in his phone. Again, he paused when another new friend came up on the list: Shikamaru.

The guy was exceptionally lazy and it would require serious effort to get up from wherever he was and meet him somewhere. The guy was probably sleeping.

"Oh, fuck it," Naruto cried and clicked the send button. He really didn't feel like going home then. The phone rang – once, twice, three times before he decided to hang up. As he pulled the device from his ear, he heard a click and tiny voice sound distantly, "Hello?"

Surprised, Naruto quickly put the phone back to his ear, "Woah! Shikamaru? You answered!"

"How astute of you," the man answered through a heavy yawn. "Why are you calling me if you didn't expect me to answer?"

"Never mind that. What are you doing right now?"

There was a slight pause as Shikamaru contemplated his answer, likely wondering why Naruto was asking, but finally responded hesitantly, "Nothing. Why?"

"Great! Come meet me for a few drinks."

"I have class tomorrow, Naruto."

"So what? You know you're going to sleep through them anyway."

He could hear a heavy sigh from the other side of the line, disrupting the smoothness in his speaker with a slight static sound. "So troublesome."

"Shikamaru, what isn't troublesome for you?"

The response was quick: "Sleeping."

Naruto rolled his eyes, even though the other couldn't see it. "Just come on," he implored. "I'm bored. I promise we won't be out for long."

"Hm," Naruto waited with baited breath as Shikamaru took in the proposal. "Fine."

"Thanks!"

"But you have to pay for me."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Naruto dismissed his friend's words. He wasn't about to screw up his one chance at getting out. After naming a place they could meet, Naruto hung up. It wasn't until after he'd hung up that he realized he was still crouching before the restaurant window, hiding from Sasuke and Neji's view. He stood abruptly and, without glancing through the window, took off in a sprint, hoping they didn't see him.

Who cared what they thought anyway, he said to himself, trying to console his pride. He was running – not away, of course – for the exercise.

* * *

Naruto walked into the bar several moments later and found Shikamaru nursing a drink on one of the stools in the back.

"Hey, man!" He greeted, sliding onto a seat next to the lethargic man before waving the bartender down.

"Hey," Shikamaru responded in kind and took a sip of his drink as he waited for Naruto to order his own. Once the blond was settled in, he turned to him with a serious expression, "So. What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, 'what's wrong'? Can't a guy just ask his friend out for drinks and not be questioned about his motives?"

Shikamaru simply shrugged his shoulders and turned away again to lean heavily on the counter, "Whatever you say."

"Thanks, man," Naruto thanked the bartender when he passed him his drink. He took a large swig, drinking it in large gulps before letting out a deep sigh of contentment as he slammed the glass down and wiped his mouth with the back his hand. "Oh, I really needed that."

The moment passed in comfortable silence, one that Shikamaru no doubt enjoyed. Naruto was for once too occupied with his thoughts to engage the other man in conversation. He cupped his hands around his drink as he reflected back on the calls he'd made before finally getting through to Shikamaru. After several minutes, he finally voiced his concerns.

"Hey, Shikamaru," he ventured casually. "What does it mean when a girl only meets you on her time?"

Despite his attempt at asking the question as nonchalantly as possible, Shikamaru actually groaned. "Naruto, did you seriously call me for love advice?"

"What? No!" he tried to defend himself, unconvincingly. "I was just wondering."

There was a silent moment in which Naruto wondered what Shikamaru thought before the man spoke again.

"She's probably married."

"What?"

Naruto choked on his drink, accidentally spitting out some of the liquid onto the counter as his friend patted him lightly on the back. When his choking quieted down to soft coughs, Shikamaru returned to his indifferent pose but with a grin on his face, "I was just kidding."

When he finally regained his breath, Naruto glared at him. "That's not funny."

"So I gathered. But really, Naruto, why are you asking?"

Naruto sighed and slapped his hands over his face. "I dunno," he said, voice muffled by the obstruction over his mouth. "Just. Never mind, man."

But despite the dismissal, he couldn't stop thinking about it. "Agh!" he finally cried out, furiously rubbing his face in irritation as he tried to make sense of Sakura's actions. Did she like him? Was she trying to avoid him? Was she playing hard to get? "I just don't get girls."

Shikamaru snorted into his glass as he tipped his head back to finish the drink. "No one does."

It didn't help that Naruto had little experience dealing with women prior to meeting Sakura – and Hinata didn't count. He hadn't been popular in school and even then he hadn't been charismatic enough for the unpopular girls, who had all been crushing on the guys they couldn't have. Naruto's exploits were few and far in between, mostly unmemorable blips in his life. Sakura was the first girl to really express genuine interest in him, for friendship or otherwise. He wasn't sure how to act around her, wasn't even sure he knew how to flirt, let alone engage an older woman in conversation.

Mentally letting out another sigh, Naruto tried to put thoughts of the girl out of his mind. He could ponder the mysteries of Sakura for days on end and still never come to any conclusions. He racked his brain for an easy topic switcher when he recalled his run-in with their professor.

"Hey, guess who I ran into earlier today?" Naruto asked, wanting to get Shikamaru's assessment of the man.

"Sasuke?"

At the sound of those syllables coming from his friend's mouth, thoughts of Sakura and Iruka instantly vanished from his mind.

"Fuck! Did I tell you that asshole is part of the martial arts place I joined?" He grabbed his friend's arm, shaking him to emphasize his extreme dislike for the situation. Shikamaru looked more than slightly displeased at the action.

When his friend's words finally registered through the shaking, the lazy man actually laughed, surprising Naruto enough to make him let go abruptly. He turned to Naruto with a knowing smirk on his face, "And how is that going?"

Naruto only rolled his eyes at his friend's uncharacteristic interest, stating simply, "I have to see his ugly face every time I go there. How do you think it is?"

"Chaotic. Violent," Shikamaru offered, but he was only half right. Their sparring matches were intense, but not excessively so, and there seemed to be a structured method to them as well, as if they'd already settled into a routine they'd had their whole lives. Unaware of Naruto's thoughts, the man continued, "I'm surprised you're still pissed at the guy."

Naruto turned to the other in bewilderment. "You're surprised? You of all people should know why I hate the guy so much. You went to that lecture too. You saw how he acted, what he said to me."

"I saw him responding to what you said, yes. Other than that, I don't know what made you say anything to begin with."

"But you said you were glad I yelled at him."

"I was. He was really arrogant. But that doesn't mean I hate the guy, not like how you say you do."

Naruto lapsed into a sour silence. He could understand being questioned by Lee, a friend of Sasuke's, as contradictory as that statement seemed, but to be questioned by Shikamaru as well felt like a distant betrayal. His new friend was the only person who had understood his anger at the arrogant man, having witnessed the man's callous attitude towards him.

However, thinking on it, he had to admit that his reaction to the average stranger might have seemed to come out of the blue. He'd never told Shikamaru about his run-in with the man before the lecture, wanting to nurse that bruise to his ego alone.

"You know, when you hate someone that much, the only place your feelings can go is up," his friend offered lightly.

Naruto couldn't decide if there was any truth to the words. He was still finding that he could dislike Sasuke more and more, with every confrontation he had with the insufferable character. Maybe he hadn't reached the so-called rock bottom of his hate just yet.

"Or I can just stay where I am, on this comfortable plateau, hating him with all my guts."

"I guess. But seeing as you've made your judgments before you even knew the guy, it's highly unlikely. Besides, he honestly can't be all that bad if he's so publically liked."

No, he was that bad, and then some – even if Naruto was the only person to realize it. Naruto was used to being the only one on the receiving end of someone's most unflattering personality traits. Sasuke wasn't the first person to treat him in that condescending manner, dismissing his presence as if he wasn't worth even a tiny glance. Mizuki was a clear example of that. Even Sakura had done so when they'd first met.

But the physical dismissal of his existence, he could forgive. It was for insinuating Naruto couldn't amount to anything that had really gotten to him. It was an opinion shared by many, both by those who knew him and those who knew nothing about him, but there was something humiliating about being rejected by a man who had just received a standing ovation for his accomplishments.

He could easily remain unmoved by insults from people he couldn't find it in himself to admire. While he didn't admire Sasuke, not in the least, not in a million years, there was something about the man that had commanded attention and respect in a way Naruto had never been able to master. That acceptance, that respect so easily received without a hint of modesty, had spoken to Naruto's reluctant envy.

To put it simply, Naruto was jealous and all the more bitter for it. Even if he would never admit it.

"'tch," the blond turned away from his friend, knocking back the shot in his hand in one gulp. He slammed the glass down, feeling the liquid go down his throat with a slight burn. "Whatever, Shikamaru. If I never saw that guy again, I couldn't be happier."

His friend only grunted in response.

The dismissal was only half-hearted; Naruto knew he could never withstand an argument against Shikamaru even if his life depended on it. The words were fair warning, though neither of them realized it. It would have helped if he knew just how high he could go, or how right Shikamaru could be.

He should have realized his limits, made them concrete, abided by them resolutely. But when it came to dreams, Naruto could never be accused of aiming too low, and when it came to Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto would never be one to go in half-assed.

* * *

Of course, nothing in life ever went according to plan. It was inevitable that he would see "that guy" so long as they both went to Lee's place. With Lee and, to some extent, Neji, as mediators, nothing other than their tame matches had come to pass. It wasn't until several weeks later, on the day before his final exam period that Naruto's bitter rivalry – as he'd termed it – with Sasuke finally came to a head.

He wasn't all too concerned about his exams, having already calculated that short of completely failing every single one, there was no way he could get anything below a C average. Even if he did fail one or two exams, he was fairly certain he wouldn't be receiving anything below a 2.0 this time around.

It was with this reasoning that Naruto convinced himself to head out to practice once again. And it was this reasoning that led him into his current predicament – alone with Sasuke, no Lee or Neji in sight.

Naruto brushed his arms gruffly as he rose from the floor once again. Sasuke was being noticeably more brutal than Naruto ever remembered but the blond was feeling good. He had landed a hit, albeit not a very strong one, to Sasuke's side not long after he'd come in. While he hadn't managed a hit since, it still felt good knowing that even the seemingly perfect man had his weaknesses. Or moments of weakness, whatever one wanted to call it.

Naruto didn't care. He was just glad he'd caused pain. Served that bastard right!

He was beginning to stretch his muscles again when he heard his phone go off from the side of the room. Not caring that Sasuke was waiting for him to begin another round, he walked away without a word to grab the ringing device from his coat pocket.

He glanced at the number: Kiba. Caught off guard, he answered the call with surprise in his voice, "Hello?"

"Naruto!"

At the loud yell, Naruto jerked his head away, rubbing his ear roughly as he winced with pain. He returned the phone to his ear to yell at his friend in return, "What the hell, Kiba? You almost killed my ear!"

"Naruto!" Kiba didn't turn the volume of his voice down, leaving Naruto no choice but to hold the phone a safe distance away as his friend spoke. He could still hear Kiba clearly despite the distance. "Holy fuck, Naruto! I'm done! Let's go celebrate! I finished my thesis!"

Talk about a close call; Kiba had to present it tomorrow morning.

"That's awesome, man."

Naruto congratulated his friend sincerely. Kiba had worked hard on the project, blowing Naruto off numerous times. He had never realized how few friends he really had until Kiba was suddenly no longer available. In all actuality, he had felt slightly left out, wanting to be suffering on his own project along with his friend so they could be miserable together.

"It's unreal. Shit, I haven't had a decent night's sleep in months, I've been so stressed about this thing." A sigh could be heard from the other end. "I hope I don't fuck up the presentation."

"Don't worry," Naruto reassured his friend, fingers playing with the fabric of his pants as he tried to sound encouraging. "You'll do great. You've been working pretty hard on it. I'm surprised you even remember who I am."

Kiba laughed. "Haha, yeah, I feel like I haven't seen anyone for years. I need to get back out in the world or I'm going to die. What are you doing right now?"

Naruto's eyes flicked to Sasuke, who was again working alone, unperturbed by the fact Naruto had just completely blown him off. He turned his attention back to the hem his pants. "Nothing much. Why, you wanna get a drink?"

"Hell, yeah. I need to clear my mind. Get wasted. You know."

Naruto grinned, looking forward to seeing a drunk Kiba. The guy was the most fun when he had no inhibitions. "Great. Me too. We'll drink like the world's going to end tomorrow. Finals can go fuck themselves!"

Expecting Kiba's usual enthusiasm at the prospect of drowning themselves in beer, Naruto was surprised to hear him ask instead, "You have finals tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. I already calculated everything. There's no way I can get lower than a C average and that's all I need to be readmitted."

Kiba continued to hesitate, "Are you sure? We can wait 'till the end of the week if you need to study."

"Hey, man," Naruto frowned, irritated at the other's unusual reluctance. What sane person said no to alcohol? "Why are you fucking up the mood? I told you everything would be fine. I wouldn't go if I didn't think so."

"If you say so… Just don't blame me if you fuck this one up."

"Yeah, yeah, Mom. Sheesh, are you trying to piss me off?"

"Of course."

Before Naruto could respond, Kiba prompted him for a meeting time and place. The question distracted him from their minor disagreement and he quickly threw out some options for potential destinations. Kiba chose the same bar Shikamaru chose, reminding Naruto to introduce the two. Maybe he would even call the lazy man to join them.

"I'll be there in fifteen. See you then."

Naruto hung up and rose to his feet. He glanced around to find Sasuke no longer practicing but packing his bag. He watched as the man slung the bag over his shoulder and began making his way to the exit.

Spirits lifted due to his upcoming plans for the night, Naruto called out to his sparring partner, aggravating rival, and otherwise complete stranger, "Good night, asshole!"

The man didn't even falter in his steps, throwing back a casual, "Good night, loser."

And just like that, Naruto's good mood was gone. He should have questioned the ease with which a single person could dampen his spirits – with one word, even, but at that moment all his focus had homed in on the man's back, looking arrogant and smug even though it was expressionless.

Naruto threw his phone down in a show of aggression, not even aware that the move was reminiscent to the one that had broken his previous phone. Naruto wasn't sure what made Sasuke turn around, whether it was the phone, Naruto's sudden silence, or if he was simply turning to grab something he'd forgotten. Whatever the reason, Sasuke took in Naruto's aggressive stance, easily recognizing the coming fight. He dropped his bag to the floor as Naruto began to approach him.

"Why the hell are you such an asshole?" Naruto questioned, finally unable to keep the question in.

Sasuke only raised a single brow, "The same reason you are a complete idiot."

Naruto gritted his teeth, mentally trying to calm himself down. He knew he shouldn't care in the least for Sasuke's opinion of him, but it was undeniable then that he was offended, that his pride had been hurt. And even though he shouldn't care, he did – he cared enough to want to know why.

"You've been nothing but an asshole from the second we ran into each other. You don't even know me to call me an idiot."

The man actually scoffed at the words. "I don't need to know you to make any judgments."

The words reminded Naruto of Shikamaru's comment earlier. Was it the same case for Sasuke? That Sasuke too could only go up from having such a low impression of Naruto. In that case, it was more than insulting that Sasuke's opinion of him hadn't hit rock bottom yet either, that it was apparently continuing to go down.

"You have been nothing but a complete moron since the second I laid my eyes on you. Irresponsible, immature, thickheaded – "

"Where the hell are you getting that from? Pulling shit out of your ass again?" Naruto took another step forward, wanting badly to beat the man's face in, dark mood growing further at the knowledge that any attempts to do so would be easily blocked.

"Hardly. You've done nothing but justify my previous assessment of you since you joined here, which you've obviously done by manipulating your connections."

"As if you're one to talk," Naruto retaliated. He didn't know anything about the man other than he was a complete asshole, but that didn't stop him from making his accusations. "Everything's been handed to you on a silver platter by your fucking family, hasn't it? Maybe I should fuck your mom too, huh? Maybe she'd even offer me your job."

It was a universal understanding that mom jokes were always out of the line – completely off limits, in fact – no matter how hated one's opponent was. However, this was an understanding that had eluded Naruto until then and it was because of this ignorance that he suddenly found himself sprawled on his back, cheek burning from a sudden burst of pain, and a heavy weight on his abdomen keeping him in place.

"The one who should keep their mouth shut is you," Sasuke nearly growled, staring Naruto straight in the eyes as his hands tightened painfully around his shirt collar.

Naruto could easily see the rage swimming in the man's eyes and, truly, it was the first show of real emotion he had seen from the man. The closeness of the other's face felt vaguely familiar, and the familiarity of it confounded him, leaving him perplexed enough to let the stream of Sasuke's words shower over him as his eyes fixed on the man's angry gaze.

"From what I understand, you have plans to party the night before your final exams when you're an average student at best if all you can manage are C's. And judging from the fact you need those average grades to be 'readmitted,' you've been kicked out of your previous school – meaning, you failed."

Sasuke plowed through the words despite the growing rage on Naruto's face. He was embarrassed he couldn't deny the words either.

The light directly above them haloed the man's face, highlighting everything for Naruto's eyes to observe and absorb – everything from the strong line of his jaw, to the softening of the otherwise thin lips by shadows, to the thick, dark lashes framing the man's piercing gaze, to the pale skin completely free of any blemishes, to the perfectly proportioned nose, all set in completely symmetrical fashion. It was unfortunate the personality didn't reflect the appearance; that mouth seemed only able to spew ugliness.

With their faces so close, Naruto could easily see the fine wrinkles in the corner of the man's eyes. He was surprised to see them there, as he had always been under the assumption they were close in age. In fact, his quiet observance of Sasuke's face revealed several other subtle wrinkles, aging what otherwise would be a youthful, carefree appearance – frown notwithstanding.

"Don't insult me by considering me your rival. Being compared to someone so far from the best is nothing but slander, especially someone who does everything half-assed. Because that makes you worse than a loser."

Naruto could sense the finishing blow coming and even though he had already accepted Sasuke's prowess as a fighter, he wasn't expecting the complete and utter defeat at the brutal words that followed.

"That would make you dead last."

With the declaration echoing in Naruto's head, suddenly devoid of all other thoughts, the man rose from his position, leaving Naruto with the odd sensation of unexpected coldness.

"It's not that I'm a bastard," the dark-haired man continued unnecessarily, looking down at Naruto's form on the floor. "It's that I'm honest. And you can't handle it."

And there it was again, that feeling.

The denial was ready to spring from his lips, a simple "Fuck you!" waiting patiently for his brain and his mouth to connect, for the production of the necessary sounds. He wanted to swear at everyone and everything again – at Sasuke, at life, at the world, at Mizuki – but nothing came forth

In fact, he didn't even notice when Sasuke finally left. He had suddenly been struck with the realization that the reason he couldn't refute anything Sasuke had said was because everything Sasuke had said was completely true. Every single bit of it.

And while he wanted to curse the world and everything in it for his situation, he really had no one to blame but himself, leaving nothing to hate but his own inadequacies. It was a humbling realization to come to, especially at the hands of someone like Sasuke. It made him wonder.

Just how long would he be stumbling after an impossibility?

**TBC**

* * *

**Notes:**  
Sorry for the total, rushed crappiness of this chapter. It was either update now or update who knows when. I've had a lot on my plate recently… And if I'm truly a responsible person, you won't see me again until next year sometime. If I update before then, be sure to yell me because it would mean I'm shirking my responsibilities. If you're still reading (now or by the time I get back), thank you! For both your time and your patience. Well, until next time! :)

_Edit: 11/28/2011_


	7. Chapter 6

**Previously: **Having been suspended from school for poor academic performance, Naruto is on a mission to redeem himself. However, his ambitions are great, his follow-through… not so much. Lee and Shikamaru impart some wise words of wisdom to Naruto: respectively, rivals are great and women make no sense. Naruto takes both to heart. Finally, Naruto's self-acknowledged rivalry with Sasuke comes to a head (despite never really existing in the first place) and the blunt man completely dresses Naruto down for all the faults he already knew he had.

And, just as a friendly reminder:** warnings from chapter one still apply**! Also, this chapter is unnecessarily long and quality has, unfortunately, deteriorated quite a bit.

* * *

Chapter Six_  
Destination: square one_

* * *

Growing up, Naruto had – arguably affectionately – been branded an "idiot," a title he readily tolerated, if only to avoid the less acceptable one of "loser." He had always been unwilling to reconcile his place in the social hierarchy of life, but all he had to back him up was groundless pride and no real accomplishments.

Naruto had perhaps taken only two steps beyond a childish youth that once painted the school walls a bright orange. He could possibly even argue that he had not even progressed that far yet, still so far rooted in his shortcomings to do nothing more than pine for a better future.

As it were, at twenty-one years of age, Naruto was as far from his vague dreams of grandeur as day one. Lying on his back, Naruto stared blankly at the ceiling as his thoughts kept returning to the other night. After his showdown with Sasuke, Naruto had met with Kiba as promised. Despite the occasion, he had celebrated in what his friend had labeled – with words clearly memorized for his thesis research – "existentialist-wannabe, emo bullshit."

Naruto had, in other words, completely rained on the poor guy's parade.

"Shit!" Kiba barged loudly into the room with a force, as if summoned by Naruto's thoughts. The door flew roughly into the wall with a crack.

"Shit!" He repeated frantically. "Where is it?"

Naruto watched with a mix of irritation and amusement as Kiba scrambled about his room, tossing clothing, paper and other miscellaneous items left and right in a desperate search for the missing sock he had been searching for since earlier that morning. When the tenth shirt revealed nothing of use underneath, Kiba let out a loud sigh of frustration, "Seriously, this is starting to piss me off. Where the hell is it?"

Naruto shrugged, not moving from his comfortable, reclined position on the bed. After a minute more of watching his friend struggle with the condition of his room, he made a thoughtful suggestion, "Hey, maybe if you call out to it, it'll come right out?"

Kiba's scowl was enough to convey his opinion on the suggestion, but he chose to accompany the look with indignation anyway, "Or maybe you could stop being a complete jackass and actually help me look for it."

Fully expecting to dodge a shoe along with the retort, Naruto frowned when his friend failed to humor him with any other response. He might even have let the thing hit him. When Kiba continued to trash his room, he risked speaking up again, "Really, it wouldn't hurt to try."

Kiba straightened from his position then to glare at him fully and, with arms crossed firmly across his chest, called through teeth clenched tight enough Naruto could hear them grind from across the room, "Hey, sock, can you come out?"

As expected, nothing happened except for Naruto bursting into laughter at the sight, but he did finally relinquish his casual pose to become more useful. Chuckling to himself over his own genius, he fell to his knees on the opposite side of the room and began his own search for the mysterious sock, "You're so gullible, Kiba."

Resuming his own search, his friend scolded him with a half-hearted frown, "Right. And you're not an asshole."

Naruto tossed him a resentful look over his shoulder, "Dude, you're two hours early – I have every right to be an asshole! Even if it takes us half an hour to find the damn thing, you're still going to be an hour and a half early."

"Since when did you get so good at math?" his friend muttered quietly to himself as he pulled open the top drawer of Naruto's desk and peered inside.

After a good five minutes passed without satisfactory results, Naruto stopped midway in reaching under his bed as a sudden realization hit him full force. He turned to glare at his friend accusingly, "Kiba, why the hell do you think your sock is in my room?"

The only explanation he received was an uninformative, "Because."

"Did you look in the kitchen too?"

Kiba didn't even spare Naruto a glance despite the sarcasm in his voice, simply responding with an honest, "Of course."

"Well, fuck, no wonder you can't find it if you're looking for it everywhere except your own damn room. It's probably sitting in your dresser, nicely tucked in with – "

"Found it!"

And sure enough, there, in Kiba's triumphant right hand, was a crumpled, slightly used looking sock that did, in fact, match the one already on his left foot. "I let you borrow these when you went on that date a million years ago," he finally explained as he bent to slip the sock onto his right foot. Standing proudly with both feet finally adorned, he posed proudly with his arms raised to either side, "So, what do you think?"

Analyzing Kiba's appearance, he had to admit that he looked good. Having tamed the wild look often likened to his family's pet dogs, Kiba appeared to completely fit the role of the successful-to-be adult preparing for his final moments as a college student.

"You look like shit," he grinned, contradicting his own impression.

Kiba brushed the comment aside with a snort, "Yeah, whatever. Try not to be so jealous."

When the other diverted his attention to straightening his clothes, Naruto's smile slipped at the offhand remark. His roommate didn't seem to notice how close to the truth he had come with the casual joke. So close, in fact, that it was completely accurate. "Yeah," he finally agreed, smiling widely again.

"So, whatever happened to that girl anyway? Sakura? You still seeing her?"

It took a moment for Naruto to process the change in topic and when he did he had to hide another wince, "Uh, sure. If by 'still seeing her' you mean 'not seeing her at all since she never answers her phone.'"

Sakura, apparently, was as elusive as a sock.

"Oh," Kiba offered awkwardly before he shrugged. "Well, it's her loss."

"I guess."

"So, what are we doing now? We have a shit-load of time to kill."

Naruto pretended to think hard before throwing out his suggestion, "Let's go for a drink?"

Kiba looked at him skeptically, "At seven in the morning?"

"Yeah, why not?" he replied as he began a search for his own socks, finding them easily in a matter of seconds. He slipped them on as Kiba continued his argument.

"Naruto, I'm not going to be drunk at my own graduation."

"Who said you had to get drunk?"

"No, really, I'm not. Hinata would kill me. It'd surprised you, but she would! Not to mention, my parents would disown me!" Nevertheless, he followed Naruto out of the room to put his shoes on at the front door.

"Right," the blond grinned knowingly at him as they slipped through the doorway.

But to Naruto's chagrin, Kiba resisted his constant urging. The hilarious sight of Kiba falling flat on his face while receiving his diploma was just not meant to be. Instead, the boy was every bit the respectable graduate he wanted to appear, nodding deferentially to the head of the school as he took his degree in hand.

Naruto stared at the concrete evidence of his friend's success from his place in the audience, more than aware of the fact he should have been up there with him, sharing in the glory of the moment. In their world, where success was a tangible measure of their accomplishments, just what was he exactly?

Even as he cheered, it became excruciatingly clear the more he thought of it. He cheered for his friend, truly proud of the man's accomplishment, but the realization felt heavy, stifling. In this world, men like Sasuke were everything while he, Naruto, was absolutely nothing.

* * *

Hours later, Kiba finally pulled away from his family. Having stuffed his face with a congratulatory dinner, he arrived at the designated celebration point flushed and slightly irritated.

"Yo, Naruto!" the recent graduate called to his friend. Naruto could barely hear him over the music, but he could see the frantic arm waving as the figure approached him.

"Hey!" he screamed in greeting once Kiba had reached him. "Where's Hinata?"

Kiba jerked a thumb over his shoulder and Naruto's eyes followed the line it created to the two stiff figures behind him: Hinata, standing awkwardly under the scrutiny, and, of all people, her cousin, Neji, whose irritation made him seem stiff as a board. Naruto's growing excitement took a sharp plunge at the sight of him. He had seen the two at Kiba's graduation ceremony. After the girl's horrible betrayal of family trust, Neji had apparently been designated her official chaperone to any and all events.

"Wow," Naruto said disdainfully as the longhaired man shifted on his feet, uncomfortable in the loud setting. "I think the only thing that could make this night worse is if the other one showed up too."

Neji's eyes had homed in on his face when he'd begun to speak, but the lack of reaction told Naruto he couldn't hear a word he was saying. Naruto grinned, further amused by the slight narrowing of pale eyes as they took in his expression. He was about to open his mouth to speak again when he felt a slight rumbling in his pocket. Pausing in his future mischief-making, he pulled his phone out and nearly dropped it in surprise at the name displayed on the screen: "Sakura Haruno," the screen read in fine print.

He watched it ring – a series of long vibrations in the palm of his hand – before it stopped. One missed call. A moment later his phone vibrated again, alerting him a message had been left. Naruto stared at the screen for a moment before decisively holding down the "off" button. When he slipped the device back into his pocket, he raised his eyes to his friends and non-friend, all of whom were watching him with varying degrees of interest.

"So!" He began to change the topic, voice loud enough to be heard over the music. "Who wants to get drunk tonight?"

Neji scoffed in disgust at the suggestion, an expression that turned to a deep scowl when Kiba pumped his fists in excitement and turned to speak to Hinata. Seeing the angry attention turn to his roommate, Naruto stood and threw an arm around the unsuspecting man's shoulder, jerking him down to his height so he could scream obnoxiously into his ear, "Come on, if you're going to insist on being here, we're going to insist you lighten the hell up!"

Neji stiffened completely in his hold, before calmly demanding, "Don't touch me."

Naruto leaned back with an unconvincing apologetic smile as he gestured vaguely towards his ear with his free hand. He tightened his grip to pull the other even closer, mentally grinning as shoulders stiffened impossibly further, "Sorry, can't hear you! You need to speak up."

"I said: Don't touch me," the words came out harshly. Sensing he was reaching the end of the man's patience, Naruto finally pulled away, feigning shock.

"What? You want to dance?" He waved a hand in exaggerated excitement towards the dance floor as he gaped at the man in mock surprise, amused at the blank look on his face before shaking his head. "Sorry, I don't swing that way. But I'll dance with Hinata!"

Before he could receive a response, Naruto made a dive for Hinata's wrist and began to drag her towards the dance floor. Hinata could not have been more difficult to pull had her feet been planted firmly in the ground and she had fought childishly all the way there. Her limp body was heavy as he pushed his way into the gyrating bodies a few feet ahead of him.

"Naruto, I – "

"Don't worry, Hinata," Naruto waved his hand carelessly, knowing full well her concerns. "I can't dance worth shit either!"

And he proceeded to move about wildly, horribly out of synch with the music. When he heard the barely audible giggle come from his unmoving dance partner, he grinned and made his movements more erratic. Turning his eyes to the shy girl, he was pleased to find that she was swaying slightly to the music, hands raised no higher than her chest but moving.

"See, you're better than me, at least!"

She gave him a hesitant grin and Naruto was about to up the craziness of his moves when he was shoved roughly to the side. About to shove the body roughly back, Naruto stilled when he saw it was only Kiba, who was apparently shouting at him at the top of his lungs if Naruto was able to hear the angry words.

"Why the hell did you leave me alone with that asshole? I thought I was going to die!"

Naruto didn't pretend to be sorry, as he was happy to have had such an easy time getting Hinata away from her cousin. Realizing, however, the celebration wasn't meant for him, he allowed Kiba to replace him as Hinata's partner. Kiba was actually a better dancer of the two, surprisingly enough. As compensation, he offered the only thing he knew would make Kiba forgive him at that point.

"I'll get our tab going!"

At the thumbs up he received in response, Naruto made his way to the bar, where Neji sat, clearly not amused. Though still heart-thumpingly loud, the music was quieter where the man sat, so Naruto slipped into the stool beside him. Turning back to the floor, he could easily see Hinata and Kiba in the crowd. From the looks of it, Hinata had loosened substantially already, enjoying the moment with her friend. Naruto smiled at the sight; Hinata looked horribly out of place with the wildly moving bodies, but at least she was enjoying herself.

Turning back to the counter, he called to the bartender to get his attention. He glanced towards Neji and, noting the man's empty hands, ordered drinks for the two of them.

Neji didn't thank him when his drink arrived but he did take a sip, which Naruto took as a good sign and strong enough signal that he was welcome to talk.

"So," he began. "How do you like your new job?"

The man threw him look at the question, brow raised in what Naruto figured to be confusion. He waved towards the dance floor and elaborated further, "As Hinata's chaperone. Must be pretty damn easy."

Not expecting to receive a response, Naruto nearly fell from his seat when Neji actually made a comment.

"She's different around you."

Naruto waited for an explanation to follow, reluctant interest winning over inevitable irritation over what Neji had to say. He still remembered the accusations from their first meeting. It was highly unlikely that the man had anything nice to say about him, but he couldn't help but wonder how the girl was different. She always seemed the same to him – quiet, demure, painfully shy. When no clarification came forth, he prompted the other with a simple, "Yeah? In what way?"

A moment of silence before Neji spoke again, but randomly changed the topic, "You have not been to see Lee this week."

"Uh," came Naruto's intelligent response. "Yeah."

The memory of Sasuke's face glowering so close to his own was still fresh on his mind. Even if it had been longer than a few days, he didn't think the moment would ever lose even a pinch of clarity. While the physical blows felt distant, he was still smarting from the verbal assault. The man sure knew how to use his words; Naruto had absolutely no intention of getting near them ever again.

"Do you intend to return?"

Knowing he was treading on dangerous ground, Naruto leaned forward to grin widely in the man's face, "I didn't realize you cared."

Neji actually rolled his eyes at the remark, "I don't, but Lee is a friend. He sends his regards."

Naruto paused at the comment, surprised for a split second that the man would even admit such a thing as having friends. Quickly, the surprise turned to appreciation when he actually thought of the man's words. Thinking of Lee's friendliness, he found himself grinning to himself.

"I'll give the guy a call later," he promised aloud. Curious despite himself, Naruto asked, "How are things there, anyway?"

"Back to normal."

"What do you mean?"

Ignoring the question, Neji made a quiet observation instead, "You fought with Sasuke."

Speaking with Neji was revealing to be quite a challenge. He may have had a more informative, engaging conversation with himself. There was not even a trace of question in Neji's comment; he was absolutely confident in his belief that Naruto was the cause of whatever transpired. Despite not knowing if Sasuke had revealed the circumstances behind their encounter, Naruto still bristled with the need to defend himself.

"Who gives a shit?" he asked, not bothering to deny the claim. "The guy's stick finally came lose for a second and he went insane. If you're looking for an apology, you're not going to get one."

"I actually couldn't care less about Sasuke's happiness or lack-thereof. However, I have to deal with him regularly. Sasuke is even more unpleasant when he is irritated." The curiosity in his next question sounded almost hesitant, "What did you say to him?"

Naruto pointedly stared at the dance floor, ignoring the query. If Sasuke didn't feel it important enough to discuss with his so-called friends, neither did Naruto feel any obligation to provide details of the incident to someone he could barely stand.

Not waiting too long for an answer, Neji simply shrugged before turning away, "No matter. Don't apologize to him. It doesn't bother me."

Naruto laughed at the comment, turning away from the dance floor to face his reluctant companion. He clapped a hand on the man's shoulder, resting it there for the split second before Neji quickly shrugged it off with a scathing glare, "I have no interest in bonding with you."

At the disgusted face, Naruto only laughed harder, though knowing the hilarity of it had been unintentional. Neji was at the bottom of his list of people he wanted to befriend – a small notch above Sasuke, who could hardly even be considered a member of the list.

"As much as of an asshole I think you are, that actually makes me kinda hate you less," Naruto said, knowing the words would irritate Neji since he clearly wanted to have nothing to do with him. He brought his hand up, holding his pointer and thumb together as he squinted into the miniscule space between them, "Just a tiny pinch, though."

He was saved from whatever Neji had to say in reply by Kiba's sudden appearance. His friend made a dive for the drink Naruto had ordered and downed it before the blond had a chance to protest. He was about to shove the other away when Hinata placed a calming hand on his shoulder. He turned to grin at her blushing face.

"Hey," he said to the girl. "You guys came back pretty quickly. Did Kiba finally embarrass you?"

Kiba slammed the glass down in response, challenging him with a rough, "You honestly thought you were better?"

Naruto rose from his seat at the same time as Neji. Turning in surprise towards the other, Naruto watched as the man approached his cousin and said with a no-nonsense tone of voice, "We're leaving."

"What? Why?" Kiba cried at the same time Naruto uttered, "But we were having such a nice conversation!"

Hinata's expression had taken a complete about-face from the subtle happiness from before. Naruto was reminded of Neji's surprise visit to his apartment; he had made the same demand in a similar fashion then. Instead of starting a fight, Naruto tried to argue somewhat reasonably, "Seriously, you guys just got here."

"Yeah, the night is just starting you can't, ah, you know," Kiba trailed off unexpectedly at the look Neji threw him before making a feeble attempt to continue. "It's a once in a lifetime night for me."

Naruto easily tagged onto the argument, "Yeah! Besides, we haven't seen Hinata in ages. She doesn't even want to go. Right, Hinata?"

The three turned to the shy girl, who nearly shrank at the attention. When she spoke, however, her voice was firm when she directed her response to her cousin, "I'd like to stay, Neji."

Even with the music pounding in the background, Naruto swore he could hear a pin drop in the ensuing tension. The words were calm and polite but for the confidence in which they were spoken, Hinata may as well have told him to go fuck himself. Naruto would have, anyway. As for Neji, he was clearly displeased. Pale eyes flicked to him for a moment before returning to the girl.

Expecting a fierce argument about the danger, lack of dignity and absolute treachery in associating with hooligans like him, Naruto nearly choked when all the man said was, "That's fine. I have a meeting early tomorrow morning. Don't stay out too late."

He watched stupidly with his mouth hanging open as the other walked away and out of sight.

"Did you spike his drink?" Kiba asked in wonder after a few minutes.

Naruto peered into the empty glass Neji had left behind before replying hesitantly, "I don't think so?"

Shrugging off the mystery, Naruto gestured for the bartender to get him another drink. Once the glass was in his hand, he swallowed it in one gulp before dramatically slamming it down.

"Ok, guys. Let's get this party started!"

* * *

In the late evening the next day, Naruto had the courage to finally listen to the message Sakura left.

Despite Neji's warning, the trio had not finished their partying until the wee hours of the morning. After running into some fellow graduating classmates, the occasion had degenerated into a wild night of celebration. Any jealousy Naruto may have felt, he drowned out with continuous glasses of alcohol, for which he was definitely paying at the moment.

Naruto didn't envy Kiba that morning, however, when his roommate was forced to wake early to have breakfast with his family despite a thundering headache and queasy stomach. He had yet to return, and likely would not until the next day if Naruto understood the confusing message left on their main phone. After lazing about the whole day, Naruto had the luxury to wait until a somewhat full recovery before finally feeling well enough to risk another potential headache.

Flipping open his phone cover, he clicked into his voicemail box and waited for the message to begin.

"Hi, Naruto. This is Sakura," Naruto's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice. "I'm sorry for not returning your call sooner, I've been busy. Give me a call if you're free, okay?"

And that was it.

Naruto had obsessed over that message for the entire night, wondering what Sakura would say. No displayed interest, no desire to see him again, just a simple request – no, demand, to call if he could. Naruto was free then, as he usually was, but he would be damned if he made that call.

Sakura clearly understood his situation as a nobody, waiting for calls as if he had nothing better to do. Having finished his exiled semester and in the middle of a boycott – he didn't have the guts to call it avoidance – of Lee's martial arts center, Naruto really had nothing better to do other than go to work.

Despite the grief Kiba and, to a much larger extent, Sasuke, had given him over his decision to party the night before his finals, he had done better than he had expected. While nowhere near perfect scores, he surprised even himself with his above average results. It was more than enough to apply for readmission, but Naruto could hardly find solace in the fact. It was only an empty victory; if others couldn't see him for what he was, he may as well have not been anything at all.

As if sensing his thoughts, his phone buzzed again, and he looked down with surprise to see that it was the pink-haired girl calling again. It wasn't spite that spurred him into ignoring her again, sending the call straight to his voicemail, it was disappointment. For the first time, Naruto felt disappointed in himself.

Recalling Kiba's words from before, Naruto shook his head in disagreement. In his current state, it was no one's loss but his own.

This time, Sakura didn't leave a message.

* * *

The apartment was quiet when Naruto woke up. Kiba was either still asleep or hadn't returned yet. A quick shout through the apartment signaled to Naruto that it was the latter.

Scratching his head as he yawned, he took a seat at the kitchen table to pour himself a bowl of cereal. In the silence, the crunching was abnormally loud to his ears. It struck him then, in the middle of his completely uneventful breakfast that, aside from work, he had absolutely nothing to look forward to that day – no school, no plans with his friends, no practice, no recovery from a party the night before. He had been so busy the past few months, and even in the last few weeks with helping Kiba as he ran around preparing for graduation, that he hadn't realized how slow life was without any satisfying commitments.

He glanced down at his soggy cereal, losing interest in the unappetizing meal. It wasn't until he sat flipping idly through the TV channels that boredom gave way to irritation. He was in the prime of his youth, to borrow the words of Lee, he had to have something – anything – better to do that day before work.

"Like hell I'm staying home today!" Naruto announced to himself. Tossing the remote aside, he stood decisively and began pumping his arms and legs in much needed stretches, "All right! Let's do this!"

But once out on the streets, he had nowhere to go. Filled with every intention of entertaining himself, he had overlooked the most important part: there was nothing to entertain him.

Sighing in defeat, Naruto resumed his walking, legs feeling the monotony that would soon consume his evening. With no other options in mind, Naruto walked to the last place he wanted to be: school. The next term wouldn't start for at least another week. Even so, he felt like a moron walking around on the near empty campus.

He made his way towards the building that housed Iruka's office. During his class, he had stopped by maybe once, and that had only been to drop off a paper that was due. The professor hadn't even been present.

He climbed the five crumbling steps to test the doors at the top and was surprised to find them unlocked. He walked in uncertainly and looked around self-consciously. He couldn't remember exactly where the professor's office was – to the left or to the right – and indiscriminately chose to turn left towards the narrow staircase leading to the second floor.

Once at the top, however, he recognized the hall. He grinned, pleased with his exceptional sense of direction. The third door on the right was the only one open, leaving him no choice in what to investigate.

On his way to the door, he was surprised to suddenly see Iruka step out, carrying a bundle of papers. With his back to the student, he seemed unaware anyone was behind him. Naruto watched as he pulled the door shut with his foot and then began to juggle the papers from both hands to one, so he could grab at the keys in his pocket. After silently watching the struggle for a moment, Naruto convinced himself to offer some assistance.

"Do you need help?"

"Ah!" The sudden cry startled Naruto and he jumped back in alarm, narrowly avoiding the papers that flew in his direction. With one hand over his heart, he watched with wide eyes as Iruka's surprise slowly turned to recognition, which quickly turned to frustration.

"Naruto!" The man scolded. "Don't sneak up on me!"

"Uh," Naruto bit back his natural response, instead opting to be more polite, "Sorry?"

His professor let out a frustrated sigh, before shaking his head, "Nevermind. Help me pick these papers up, will you?"

"Sure thing."

As Naruto bent to retrieve the scattered papers, Iruka finally seemed to calm from his earlier fright. Gathering the scattered papers around him, he smiled easily at Naruto, who found himself relaxing under the friendly gaze.

"What brings you to school during a holiday, Naruto?" He asked. "Not even professors are that dedicated!"

"That's why you were in your office?" Naruto teased in return.

Iruka grinned guiltily at that and raised his papers in defense, "A professor must do what a professor must do. As you can see, I still have to work while everyone else goes on break."

Naruto nodded in understanding. At least Iruka had an excuse; he was just mindlessly wandering to pass the time. Passing the last of the papers into Iruka's waiting hands, Naruto dusted his hands against his jeans and stood awkwardly then, not sure what to do.

"Thank you," Iruka said, shuffling the papers into a poor imitation of order. Giving up on the task, he turned his attention back to Naruto. "You didn't answer my question. Are you looking for someone? Unfortunately, everyone else is out of the office until next week, but you might be able to reach them by email."

"Oh," Naruto hesitated. "Yeah, I dunno. I was just bored."

"Just bored, huh?" Naruto chose to ignore the brow raised in skepticism. "I must say that's a new one. Well, if you're that bored, I can keep you company here if you're interested."

Before Naruto could protest, he was already re-opening the door to his office, propping it open with a stopper before walking inside. He placed the stack of papers on a table to the right of the door before gesturing for the other to follow him, "Come on in, I have soda."

Hesitating at the invitation, Naruto contemplated his other options – and quickly realized he had none. While the idea of socializing with his professor made him slightly uncomfortable, he really had nothing else to do for the next few hours before work. With that thought in mind, he proceeded to enter the room.

"Do you have any ramen?" He asked somewhat hopefully, taking a seat as the man rummaged through the small fridge tucked in the corner.

Iruka tossed him a look over his shoulder, "This is an office, not a kitchen," but he emerged with a granola bar in hand along with the promised drinks.

Naruto accepted his drink and snack with a quiet thanks. He watched as the other pulled his chair from around the desk to sit alongside him.

"So," he began, popping the top of his can, "Why are you bored?"

Under the expectant gaze, Naruto debated exposing the real reason behind his presence. Kiba's support was reassuring, but obligatory. Much the same, the rejection he faced from everyone else was equally as expected. Surely Iruka, with his unforeseen friendliness, would be able to offer some much needed, hopefully unbiased, insight.

"Well," Naruto began, unsure how to explain away his reason for being there before deciding to jump straight in. "I can't say for sure. I mean, I started here only this past term. Actually, I guess you already knew that."

He risked a glance to the other to gauge his reaction and was surprised to see only patience in the calm features. He laughed nervously and raised a hand to rub furiously at the back of his neck before continuing.

"Truthfully, I got kicked out of school last term. For 'poor academic performance,'" the last he quoted with his fingers. He heard a hum in acknowledgment so he took a sip of his drink to avoid making eye contact. "I guess it really was poor. But I came here to make up for it, so I could get back to my other school and graduate. I thought I was doing well, but I think maybe I'm not really cut out for all this academic stuff after all. I don't really understanding a lot of the concepts, I'm not really that good at writing, and I'm pretty bad at – "

"Oh, I disagree."

" – getting my point… huh?"

Naruto stared at Iruka for a moment, sure he had heard an interjection but not sure what the man had said. Taking the silence as an invitation to speak, Iruka explained himself, "On the contrary, Naruto, I think you are actually a very good writer and you articulate your ideas very well with enough effort."

Naruto made a face, recalling the grade he'd received from Iruka, "But I only got a C in your class!"

Iruka smiled in understanding, "As I explained in class, I base my grades both on the quality I expect and the standards the student sets for himself. Over the course of the term, I saw your writing fluctuate quite a bit. It was very strong at the beginning, however, near the end of the term, your ideas and style lacked the clarity from before. Your final paper hurt you the most."

The explanation gave Naruto pause. While harsh, the words didn't trigger his usual indignant reaction. Slowly, he nodded, agreeing with the assessment, "I was pretty determined in the beginning."

Iruka nodded too, "I could see the effort you put into your work. In fact, I was very impressed with the quality of your first assignment. You managed to express a fresh interpretation of the material even though I've been teaching this subject for years."

He smiled when Naruto beamed visibly from the praise, a smile that turned slightly apologetic when he continued, "However, the work that followed didn't always meet that same standard."

"That sucks for me," Naruto grinned half-heartedly, deflating slightly. "I should've submitted crappy work from the start, huh?"

His professor laughed at the remark, "Don't forget that I have my own expectations too."

Naruto glanced down to his intertwined fingers, feeling like Hinata in a moment of weakness.

"But I did learn something," his eyes flicked up to the other, noting the interest, before quickly moving away. "I think I really wanted to succeed at the beginning. Not that I didn't want to succeed later, but I really wanted to be what I wanted people to think I was."

A moment of silence passed as Naruto pondered continuing his thoughts. Iruka didn't push him to explain, but neither did he try to change the subject, for which Naruto was grateful.

"I realize it's not enough to simply be something. Others have to believe I am that too, or I'm not it at all. I mean, it's kinda hard to be something when no one sees you that way, isn't it? Does this make sense?"

The nod he received was slow, but Iruka added, "I think I understand what you're trying to say."

Sighing in defeat, Naruto slumped in his chair. "Honestly, I'm scared that everything I say is just a bunch of hot air, that I don't really have what it takes to convince anyone."

Expressing the words aloud only seemed to solidify the truth behind them. Naruto had never known what it felt like to have all his aspirations believed in by someone other than himself. The thought terrified him – as the only person who believed in his goals, who else would if he couldn't?

The sound of movement from beside him startled him into turning towards his professor, fully expecting an unwanted consoling hand on his shoulder or other unwanted words of shallow comfort. Instead, the other had only leaned forward to place his nearly untouched can of soda on the desk before him.

"It's natural to lose confidence in yourself," came the words, spoken with understanding. "But that's part of being young. As a teacher, I see it often. Kids who come here with a lot of potential, but fail live to up to it. There are even those who never seem to realize they have it. It's easy for me to say you can easily find your way back to the right path. Ultimately, however, you are in charge of whether or not you acknowledge yourself."

Naruto had nothing to say; the words were hardly a revelation he hadn't already come to before.

"I'm not a stranger to lack of confidence," the man continued. "In fact, I almost dropped out college."

That piqued Naruto's interest. He turned to his teacher with wide, disbelieving eyes, "Yeah?"

Iruka smiled at the sudden curiosity, "Obviously, I managed to survive in the end. But I did struggle after I was done, unsure where the degree I didn't want would lead me."

"Back at school," Naruto laughed at the irony of it, smiling wider when Iruka chuckled along with him.

"Back at school and surrounded by rowdy students. Having gone through the same thing now, I feel very sorry for what I put my professors through."

Naruto grinned, amused to think of the Iruka before him, known for his high expectations and strict judgment, as a once disenchanted student like himself. Shaking his head at the image, he questioned the man further, "So why did you almost drop out?"

Iruka seemed to ponder the question before answering carefully, voice quiet as he recalled the past, "I was in a slump after nearly failing a term. Like you, I thought the academic world wasn't for me and almost convinced myself it truly wasn't worth it."

"Then what changed your mind?"

"Let me tell you, Naruto," he suddenly leaned forward, as if preparing to pass down a long hidden secret. Naruto instinctively mimicked the movement. "I got a severe tongue lashing from the headmaster."

Naruto shot back into an upright position, disappointment clearly showing on his face, "That's it? That's your secret to success? Then why didn't you just yell at me?"

Iruka just shrugged nonchalantly, as if Naruto's disappointment in the big reveal hardly phased him. It likely hadn't. "Behind every successful man, there is a story. But it doesn't have to be a good one. Besides, I'm confident that you're smarter than I was."

Naruto didn't bother hiding his skepticism, eyeing his professor as if he thought the man were crazy, "That's a lot of optimism." Blind optimism, he added in his mind.

Iruka only smiled. Rising from his seat, he moved to toss his can into the trash with Naruto following suit. When he returned to facing his student, he gestured to the stack of papers on the desk, "How about this. I'm teaching a class this coming term; why don't you give it a shot? It's one of my harder courses, but I promise that it will be worth it. What do you say?"

Had he felt comfortable giving his honest answer – a sharp "Hell, no!" – Naruto would have declined on the spot. However, Iruka's hopeful expression made him reconsider his initial gut reaction. He shrugged his shoulders in acquiescence.

"I guess it can't hurt."

When his professor gave him a pleased smile, Naruto felt he'd made the right decision.

"Good," he grabbed the stack of papers he'd deposited earlier, neatening the pile before lifting it with both arms. This time, with Naruto there to help him with closing and locking the door, no mishaps occurred.

At the foot of the stairs outside, Naruto paused to say goodbye to the professor, truly grateful for the time the man had spent with him, "Thanks a lot for your help, Iruka."

Iruka only nodded, "Anytime, Naruto. I'm not kidding when I say my door is always open. Let me know if you ever need anything."

With a wave, the two walked their separate ways. Naruto grinned to himself as he walked slowly towards his work. What his professor had told him had not really been as revelatory as he had hoped, but it had certainly lifted his spirits. He faltered slightly in his steps at the thought that he had to take another course in the summer, but shrugged the feeling off.

It was in such a mood, while taking a small break at a coffee shop before spending a good chunk of his day waiting tables, that Naruto ran into Sasuke Uchiha once more – literally.

"Thanks," Naruto smiled at the cashier as he took his change and backed away from the counter. His back collided with something and he heard a distant, "Fuck," and a splash as something liquid hit the floor.

"Oh, shit," Naruto turned sharply, apology spilling from his lips, "I'm sor – "

The sight of the other man actually jarred him physically, the feeling cutting his apology short. Sasuke stood before him, futilely dabbing at his coffee-stained white shirt with a crumpled napkin in one hand. In the other, he held a now half-empty cup. It was easy to see Naruto had been the cause of the spill.

Dark eyes lifted to stare at him accusingly. Before waiting for the man to make a comment, Naruto blurted out the first thing on his mind.

"I'm not sorry!"

Seeing Sasuke's mouth begin to move, Naruto turned and walked right out of the shop, not bothering to wait for the drink he'd already paid for. He almost expected the other to run after him, demanding an apology in a similar fashion he had done before. After a few minutes of walking briskly away and no sign of Sasuke, Naruto felt embarrassed for even considering it; of the two of them, only Naruto was brash, stupid, compulsive.

At the back entrance of the restaurant where he worked, Naruto paused before going in. Even his own assessment of himself was so unforgiving. In such light, it was difficult to blame Sasuke for his gut reaction.

Naruto snorted at the thought, shaking his head in dismay.

"I can't believe I'm defending the guy," he said to himself. Sasuke truly was an asshole, even if he failed to acknowledge it. For all that he was involved with the media and, apparently, politics, the man severely lacked in diplomacy. He nodded to himself, "At least I know my own faults."

Having them thrown in his face more than ever the past few months, it was much easier to admit. But he was ready to move past them.

"At least I know my own faults," he repeated, confidently. He turned back towards the door and startled to see his manager standing in the doorway, watching him with a strange expression on his face.

"Are you done talking to yourself?" the man asked.

"Yeah?" Naruto tried to smile away the awkwardness. It didn't work.

"Good," his manager replied, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Then get to work."

Naruto didn't argue as he slipped quietly past the man into the building.

* * *

Deciding he had put the task off long enough, Naruto resolved to give Lee a call on his way home from work several hours later. He had intended to surprise the man with a visit to the martial arts center after work, but figured it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he weren't even there.

"Naruto!" The warmth in Lee's voice was unexpected, but it brought a pleased smile to his face. "It is good to hear from you, my friend."

"Yeah, sorry for not calling," he admitted, feeling only a little guilty.

"It is not a problem. I imagine you must be busy."

"A little. Hey," Naruto said abruptly, wanting to change the subject quickly. "Are you going to be at the Heavenly Gates? I was thinking of heading over there now."

"Oh, sorry, but I will not be able to make it tonight. I believe Sasuke is there, however."

Naruto made a face at the statement. It was just his luck that the one night he decided to make his grand comeback, no one of importance would be around to see it. He sighed dejectedly, "Great."

"Are things between you and Sasuke okay?" Lee asked, hesitating only slightly on the last word. Things between him and Sasuke had never been okay, if "things" even existed between them. When he didn't respond immediately, Lee continued, "I suspected that something might have happened that night I left you and Sasuke unexpectedly alone together. But Sasuke will not say anything about it."

Naruto frowned at the memory, embarrassed for the way he had handled his own anger.

"That's because nothing really happened. Don't worry about it, Lee. In fact," he said, "I'm going to head over there anyway."

"Are you sure?"

Naruto laughed at the caution in the man's voice, "Seriously, Lee, I'll come out alive tonight. I need to get back into the swing of things, anyway."

"If you say so."

"Well," he replied with a note of finality. He had reached his destination and stared up at the dramatic name of the building before him. "I have to get going now. We should get together sometime, outside of martial arts."

"That sounds nice, Naruto. I look forward to hearing from you again."

With the end of the conversation, Naruto slipped the phone into his pocket. He hesitated in front of the building, having to prepare himself mentally for what he knew was inside.

"It's now or never," he said, building his resolve as he pushed through the front doors. He could hear someone in the back, immediately concluding that it must be Sasuke. When he walked through the doorway leading into the practice area, his belief was confirmed by the sight of the man, once again flowing through his moves with the same fluidity and skill that had awed Naruto upon his first view.

Removing his shoes, he slipped into the room and took a seat to observe quietly. He leaned back on his hands as he took in the movements, wanting to absorb some of that skill. The difference in their abilities was still astounding, Naruto acknowledged slightly begrudgingly.

Sasuke paused in one of his turns, eyes resting on his new company. The pause lasted barely a second before he sheathed the wooden sword. Naruto waited for the man to speak, but Sasuke seemed to take his time adjusting his already flawless appearance.

Naruto had nearly reached the peak of his admittedly very limited patience when he finally spoke.

"Why are you here?"

"Why? Is it a crime?" he responded defensively. He had told himself to remain calm in the other's presence, but he just had to make it difficult for him.

"Lee won't be here tonight," Sasuke elaborated.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I just talked to him. He said you were going to be the only one here. Anyway, how was your day?"

Sasuke threw him a narrow-eyed look, highly suspicious – Naruto would be too in his situation – but he answered the question nonetheless, "You made me late to my meeting."

It took Naruto a second to realize what the other was referring to, surprised that he had bothered to give him a somewhat proper response. He tried to keep the grin off his face at the thought of inconveniencing the man, even if it was unintentional. He assumed a neutral expression, trying to convey sincerity.

"I'm sorry."

Sasuke actually startled at the apology, turning to face him head on. Naruto could easily guess the man's thoughts, but he was ready for whatever conflict ensued.

"You're still a complete asshole and I'm pretty sure I still hate you," he continued by way of explanation. "But what I said before was completely out of line."

The last he said without having to feign honesty. He truly did regret the way things had gone before. Knowing nothing of the man before him, he had done exactly what he complained about others doing to him. He had violated the Golden Rule. And while he wouldn't claim to be anything short of imperfect, he did feel an obligation to return the animosity between them to something more superficial.

"I'm not sorry about your shirt, though. You totally deserved that," he tacked on before Sasuke got any ideas. At least they were even now.

The man glared at him before scoffing to the side. Naruto grinned. Whether it was or was not an acceptance of his apology, Naruto didn't know. He didn't care either; the words had been purely for himself.

"Anyway," he said as he rose from his relaxed position, getting ready to surprise Sasuke into action. "Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business."

Sasuke was brutal, leaving no room for mistakes even though Naruto made many. Naruto felt every hit to the core and afterwards, when he lay sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling as he had done before, he couldn't help the grin that touched his lips. It actually felt good.

He both felt and heard Sasuke take a seat beside him. His voice came drifting to his ears not long after, "You've gotten worse."

Naruto sniffed at the assessment, "Yeah, well it's been a while."

"It hasn't been that long."

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Did the man have to point out the obvious all the time? He closed his eyes against the bright lights, listening as Sasuke took an audible sip of his water. He missed Lee's laidback attitude, thinking of how he would already be immersed in a friendly conversation with the man had he been there. He made a face at the thought of Sasuke and Lee being friends; their personalities simply did not mesh.

"Hey," he said as he sat up, leaning on his elbows to look over at his sparring partner. "How do you know Lee, anyway?"

Sasuke didn't respond immediately. As the silence continued to grow, it became apparent that he had no intention of answering the question at all.

"What, is it top secret information?" He didn't bother keeping the sarcasm from his voice then.

"It's none of your business."

"What's your point? I was just being polite," Naruto collapsed back onto the floor to rest his head on his hands. "I can always just ask Lee, you know. Unlike you, he's actually capable of having a civil conversation."

He could feel Sasuke's head turn to glare at him. He didn't even need to see the man's expression to know he was irritated, "Why do you care?"

"Actually," Naruto countered, "I don't really care at all. I was just curious. Lee's too nice to be friends with you and Neji, so I was wondering why he'd bother associating with you guys. I mean, I'm pretty sure I know how you and Neji met: Asshole Academy. Where else could you guys perfect your impeccable asshole behavior?"

Sasuke brushed the comment off with a snort, "Asshole? You have a very limited vocabulary."

Naruto turned his gaze back to the man, taking in the strong profile silhouetted by the light behind him, "Seriously? This coming from someone who can barely say a sentence longer than five words? You've got to be kidding me."

"Unlike you, I choose my words carefully."

"Too carefully."

Sure enough, Sasuke gave no reply. Naruto entertained the idea that the man's head was brimming with a multitude of words, each selected randomly, strictly analyzed, and consequently dropped. With such a process, it was no wonder the man rarely said anything – nothing ever made it through his tight filter. It was an amusing thought, even though he knew it wasn't true.

"Whatever," he dismissed the non-conversation easily. He climbed to his feet slowly, already feeling the brunt of Sasuke's attacks. He stretched his muscles, ignoring the other until he made his way over to the bag he had brought along with him. When he slung the strap over his shoulder, he turned back to the dark-haired man still seated on the floor.

"Until next time," he said with a casual salute.

It wasn't until he exited the building and had walked a few blocks before he gave in and let out a loud scream, "Argh! Fuck! Did he have to hit so goddamn hard?"

He nursed the growing bruise on his shoulder, one of the many injuries that would be difficult to ignore once the adrenaline left him completely.

"God damn that fucking asshole!"

It felt good to finally release his irritation.

Halfway to his home, he finally calmed down considerably. The walk had been good for him but he rolled his shoulders to loosen the tightness he felt there. He was feeling nervous again, only because he had begun contemplating returning Sakura's call. He was already on a roll, having finally spoken with Lee and confronted Sasuke in a manner that didn't end with one of them – namely, him – even more pissed at the other.

Climbing the stairs to his apartment he pushed through the door quietly, noting the darkness and taking it to mean Kiba still hadn't returned. Once he was in his room, he pulled his phone out and then tossed his bag carelessly to the side before collapsing heavily on his bed.

He flipped the cover and scrolled through his rather small contact list until he reached Sakura's entry. Not waiting for reluctance to settle in, he pushed the call button and nervously held the phone to his ear. Sakura answered on the third ring.

"Hello?"

Again, at hearing her voice, Naruto felt his heart skip a beat. "Hey, Sakura. It's me, Naruto."

"Oh, I'm glad you called me back."

"Yeah, sorry for not calling sooner," he said for the second time that night. Truthfully, he wasn't all that sorry, what with all the unnecessary grief and uncertainty she had put him through.

"It's okay; I figured you were busy."

Naruto smiled at the response. It was like talking to Lee all over again, no wonder the two were friends.

"A friend of mine just graduated," he explained, "so we've been celebrating."

"That's pretty exciting. I'm sure he's very happy. Tell him congratulations for me."

"I will. Anyway, what have you been up to?"

"Oh, nothing much, really," she said, contradicting the message she had left him earlier. "Actually, I was wondering if you were free to meet tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Naruto pretended to contemplate his schedule. He already knew he had no commitments for the next day. "I think so. What time were you thinking?"

"I'll be free around noon. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," he replied, feeling slightly like they were setting up a business meeting.

"Great. Let's meet at the coffee shop we ran into earlier."

"Okay."

"Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto."

"Right. See you tomorrow," he managed to say before hanging up. He tossed the phone onto the bed, replaying the conversation in his head. Sakura had sounded unusually distant. Granted, he had only met with her a few times, but she was usually much friendlier during those encounters. With that thought in mind, he was more than slightly apprehensive about the following afternoon.

* * *

Naruto sat nervously on his seat, wiping his sweaty palms on his knees before forcing his restless hands on the table before him. Like before, he was unusually early for the date, if he could call it such. Having thought about the upcoming meeting all night long, he had come to the conclusion that he would be honest and upfront with the girl, about both his intentions and his current predicament. Sakura could take it or leave it.

Hopefully she would take it.

"Naruto!"

Naruto's head jerked up upon hearing his name, and he rose quickly as Sakura made her way over to him, friendly smile in place.

"I hope you didn't have to wait long," she said as she slid into the seat across from him.

He shook his head in response, resuming his own seat with a light, "Nope, just got here myself."

When he looked over at the girl, she was still smiling at him. Catching his gaze, she said, "It's good to see you, Naruto."

Naruto nodded back in agreement. He felt the same, still struck by her beauty and her apparent interest in him. "It's been a while, huh?"

"Too long, in fact," this she said with a light laugh and Naruto found himself relaxing in her presence, nervous thoughts from the night before slowly drifting away.

"So," she began, "What else have you been up to? Other than partying the night away, of course."

Naruto laughed at the observation, "You make it sound like that's all I do." At her raised eyebrow, he defended himself with an easy grin on his face, "No, really. I've been working really hard, I'll have you know."

"I'm sure."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he said. "Oh, actually, speaking of partying, because of you I had to be reacquainted with one of the world's biggest assholes at Lee's."

The smile from Sakura's face slipped slightly at the comment, "At Lee's?"

"Yeah, Neji? Do you know him? Turns out the guy's my friend's cousin. He's been hovering over her like a hawk. He even showed up to my friend's graduation celebration like a bodyguard!"

"Oh, Neji," Sakura nodded slightly, smiling again at Naruto's visible distaste for the man. "I can see how you guy's wouldn't get along. But he and Lee go way back."

"That's an understatement. But Lee did mention something about being rivals in the past."

Sakura startled Naruto with her sudden laugh, waving her hand at his confused expression as she explained, "It was a very one-sided rivalry, I can tell you. I didn't know them back then, but from what Lee has told me, he was definitely the more adamant of the two."

Naruto chuckled along with her at the thought of Lee pursuing the other man, "I can definitely relate to that."

At Sakura's curious look, he simply shook his head. He could feel the nerves in his stomach twist suddenly at where he wanted to direct the conversation. There really was no proper seguing into topic.

"Hey, Sakura," he said, noting how she became alert at the sound of his suddenly serious voice. "Remember when you asked me about what year I was as a student?" At her nod, he continued, "I have a confession to make about that."

He could tell he had piqued her interest and was suddenly regretting even bringing it up. She didn't even have to know; it was hardly her business to know, especially when they were barely just friends. But he felt he had to, seeing it as the only way to help himself move on. Even if it would result in her looking down on him, he wanted to be completely honest with her about who he was and where he wanted to go in life.

"Truthfully, I was supposed to graduate along with my friend last week," he rushed out, without glancing in her direction, instead staring out the window to avoid her reaction. "But the reason I couldn't was because I'm on probation. If everything works out, I will hopefully graduate next year though. That's what I've been working towards."

"I see."

Naruto turned then to glance at her expression, fully expecting rejection but was only met with a thoughtful look.

"That makes two of us, then."

Naruto stared at her, "You're on probation too?"

The girl rolled her eyes, "No, silly. I meant that I haven't really been that truthful either."

"Okay?"

She shook her head at his confusion, bringing her hands to the table like Naruto had done before her arrival, "You remind me a lot of Lee."

"What?"

Naruto's eyebrows shot to his forehead. He didn't resemble Lee in the slightest – at least, he hoped he didn't. He had nothing against the guy, but he didn't exactly think his love for green spandex or the hideous bowl cut or even the untamed eyebrows were all that admirable. He shuddered to think how he would look with those attributes.

"You know, I met him at the hospital," Sakura continued, unaware of Naruto's inner plight. "When I was volunteering in the emergency department. I'd only been there for a few months but had already gotten used to what to expect. I still remember the night they brought Lee in because I was actually shocked at the condition he was in."

She paused at the memory, and Naruto refrained from commenting on what was likely a traumatic experience.

"I found out later that he had been in an accident and that he was the only survivor. When Lee found out, he was devastated. He was more upset about losing his teacher than the fact the doctors had told him he would never be able to move again. That the accident would leave him crippled."

"Lee? Crippled?" Naruto didn't bother hiding his surprise at the thought, having only seen a vibrant, lively Lee taking a competitive stand against Sasuke and Neji. The girl nodded in agreement.

"You might have wondered how someone as young as Lee could have his own place to teach martial arts."

Naruto didn't answer because he had never wondered that at all, but thinking on it now, he should have realized it sooner. Lee was entirely too young to be considered a master of the arts.

"The place belonged to his teacher," Sakura explained and grimaced all of a sudden. "Even though he was suffering, I was still unfair to him. You know he pursued me even while he was bedridden? He never gave up, not on his recovery or on getting me to agree to going on a date with him. He told me that when, not if, he got out he would take me somewhere nice.

"I told him he had no chance in hell."

She looked at Naruto all of a sudden so he tried to smile apologetically but she didn't acknowledge his attempt to console her.

"The thing I admired about Lee was that he never gave up. Have you ever visited Lee's dojo during the day, or asked who he teaches?" Naruto shook his head, suddenly feeling like he hadn't made any effort to get to know the guy at all. "He opened it to children who are recovering from debilitating accidents.

"You may be wondering why I'm telling you all this," she said all of a sudden, smiling slightly when Naruto failed to hide his confusion.

"That's what you reminded me of when you asked me to join you for dinner that night at the restaurant. Even though I had been a jerk to you, you still made the effort to reach out to me. Lee did the same. Even after I rejected him repeatedly, he still approached me as a friend when he recovered."

Naruto wondered why every time they spoke, the tone of their conversation always eventually became gravely serious. He wasn't sure how to respond to her comment, but was luckily prevented from doing so by Sakura.

"The reason I called to meet you is because I wanted to be honest with you. I do like you, Naruto," – at this he straightened with anticipation – "and I do want to be friends." – only to wilt immediately – "But I need you to know something."

She held her hand up, displaying the prominent ring on her finger. Naruto had seen the ring before, recalling that she had fidgeted with it on their previous date, but the sight of it did nothing to trigger a memory.

"Okay?" He questioned, unsure of what she was trying to say.

Sakura sighed dramatically, before shaking her head at his foolishness.

"Naruto, I'm married."

**TBC**

* * *

**Notes:**  
Hello? _Hello_? Is anyone there? …Well, I think I'll just leave this thing here anyway. Yes, typos, inconsistencies, boringness, and excruciating slowness abound… I am well aware that this wasn't worth the one-year wait. I have no excuses (that would interest anyone). Thank you if you are still reading!

_Edit: 11/28/2011_


	8. Chapter 7

**Previously: **Naruto attends and celebrates Kiba's graduation amidst much envy. Afterwards, he has a nice heart to heart with his professor, Iruka, who encourages him to take a summer class to prove himself. Feeling better after the conversation, he faces Sasuke with a more confident view on life. Unfortunately, his good luck ends quickly when Shikamaru's offhand remark proves true: the girl of his dreams is married.

* * *

Chapter Seven  
_Guilty pleasure_

* * *

"You knew!"

Shikamaru jumped at the sudden accusation, said with absolute conviction to his back. He turned to face Naruto but didn't rise to the challenging finger pointed at his face. Instead, he furrowed his brows in thought before asking, "Knew what?"

"Oh, so now you pretend to be oblivious. Stop acting like you don't know what I'm talking about." When the demand failed to bring recognition to his friend's face, Naruto huffed in annoyance as he threw his hands up into the air.

"Sakura," he prompted further, drawing yet another blank look from his friend.

"I don't know who Sakura is."

"Then how did you know she was married?"

It took a moment, but understanding soon dawned on Shikamaru's face.

"This is about the conversation we had the other day. About the girl who called you back at odd times," he guessed, Naruto's nod confirming his assumption. "It was just a lucky guess." At the sudden grimace, he corrected himself, "Unlucky. An unlucky guess."

Naruto slumped into the stool beside him, anger quickly fading into disappointment. Shikamaru didn't miss a beat, sliding his drink over for Naruto to swipe and gulp down in one shot. After the glass returned to the counter, he let out a deep sigh, deflating suddenly to rest his head beside the empty glass. He heard Shikamaru flag down the bartender and happily accepted the new drink, lifting his head only when his friend let out a deep sigh of his own.

"So how did you find out?" Shikamaru asked once they both had fresh drinks in hand.

"She told me."

"Really?" He asked with genuine surprise, eyebrows shooting up in a rare show of interest.

Naruto nodded, sliding the glass from one hand to the other so he wouldn't have to look up, "Yep. She said she wanted to be friends."

The pat on his back was an awkward, slightly uncomfortable gesture, but it didn't fail to make Naruto feel somewhat better. He groaned in frustration at his predicament, "Seriously, if she was married, why did she even go on a date with me?"

"Did you ask her?"

"Well," Naruto hesitated before answering. "No."

"I see."

At that, Naruto actually laughed sheepishly, his hand unconsciously rising to rub the back of his neck as he explained, "I kinda left pretty soon after she broke the news. But, I mean, she did give me this long speech on how she met Lee. You know, that guy who owns the martial arts center?"

Not waiting for any acknowledgment, he continued, "She said I reminded her of him. Which I think was a little offensive. I mean, Lee's a nice guy and all, but… Anyway, she wanted to be friends."

Shikamaru watched in silence as Naruto continued to fiddle with his glass, allowing the other to come to his own conclusions. After a moment, the blond spoke again.

"I guess it's nice that she still wants to hang out. But, I don't know. It's weird, knowing she's married after I ran after her."

His friend nodded at the remark and asked, "Do you plan on remaining friends?"

He simply shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe."

"But you're not going to pursue her anymore?"

"What, romantically?" When Shikamaru nodded, Naruto actually drew back in shock, feeling as if his morality had been attacked. "What? No!"

However, despite the quick, vehement denial, likely stemming from his anger towards her and his complete frustration with himself, it didn't change the fact that he was still very much attracted to her. Knowing she was completely off-limits did nothing to lower her appeal.

She had looked entirely too hopeful yesterday when she had asked him if they could remain friends. And when he had answered apprehensively with a yes, she had smiled at him, pleased. He had felt bad to suddenly announce his departure then, but she made him uncomfortable. The mix of attraction and irritation didn't sit well with him.

He threw a punch at his friend for having the audacity to ask such a question, and then another for even thinking he might say yes.

"Damn, Shikamaru. You act like having an affair is no big deal."

He missed the glance Shikamaru threw him, but he heard the response that followed easily, "You'd be surprised."

Naruto snorted despite his shock at the comment, "You're trying to tell me that someone like Sakura would willingly cheat on her husband? Yeah, right."

"I'm not familiar with Sakura's character, so I wouldn't know. But if she's in an unhappy marriage, I'd guess it's more likely thank you think."

"I don't think so," he denied immediately, shaking his head for emphasis. He had nothing concrete to back the statement, having only known the woman for a short while, but still persisted in his belief. "It can't be that easy."

Shikamaru shrugged before replying, "As I said, you'd be surprised. We may have a low divorce rate here, but that doesn't exactly imply what society wants it to. Social obligations have a way of pressuring unhappy couples to stay together. What makes those marriages successful is what the individuals can do outside of their married lives. In this case, seeking satisfaction in someone else."

"I wouldn't call that a successful marriage," Naruto made a face to accompany his opinion on the theory, clearly displeased. Again, Shikamaru only shrugged when he saw the look but Naruto went on to say, "But I guess one man's success is another man's failure."

Shikamaru paused before smirking at the statement. "If you want to put it that way," he said.

"Yeah," Naruto had nothing to add to that. He straightened from his slouch to stretch his back, bracing his hands on the side of the counter to balance himself. He'd be lying if he said Shikamaru's words hadn't surprised him; he didn't seem the type to promote infidelity. Neither could he say that the theory didn't seem all that unconvincing.

Glancing down at his hands again, he summed up his thoughts for his friend, "I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse."

Because suddenly Sakura wasn't entirely off-limits, as he had been thinking, and he wasn't sure how he wanted to feel about the lingering potential. Thinking back on his frustration with her, he decided he wanted to be unhappy, disappointed. Instead, he only felt annoyed that he could feel neither.

* * *

When Sakura called a day later, Naruto ignored the rising guilt when he switched his phone off. Pretending he had never heard it ring, he tossed his phone back onto his bag and resumed slipping his shirt over his head. He shook as much water from his hair as he could before turning to the other man who was silently redressing a few feet from him.

"Hey," he called, wanting an excuse for ignoring the call. At the moment he had none, having just finished showering after another intense bout of sparring. He was pleased when Sasuke actually paused in rummaging through his own bag to glance up at him. He grinned widely, "Want to grab something to eat?"

Sasuke didn't hesitate, "No."

"What? Really? You look hungry." When Sasuke only raised a brow at the pseudo-observation, Naruto quickly adjusted the statement, "Ok, I'm hungry. Come on, it'll be on me. My treat."

"I don't need the generosity." That went without saying.

"It's not charity, you ass, it's called being nice!" He countered. "Even Neji let me buy him a drink!" Naruto conveniently left out the part where Neji most certainly tried his best to reject his company.

"Yeah," he continued, even though Sasuke had only grunted in response. At least he hadn't ignored him. "Jealous? Even Neji thinks I'm cool!"

Sasuke straightened and slung his bag over his shoulder. Naruto watched him expectantly. The man returned the stare, watching him through damp bangs before he flicked them aside with a casual swipe of the hand.

"Neji is an idiot," he finally said. He smirked then and Naruto had to keep himself from wiping the smug look from his face. Instead, he clenched his hands and forced them to remain at his sides.

"Is that how you talk about all your friends?" He wanted the question to sound derisive, accusatory, and mentally cursed himself for actually sounding interested. Maybe Sasuke's insults didn't really mean anything, or maybe he had taken being called an idiot too personally.

Sasuke made a sound of disgust at the question, as if the very idea was absurd, "Neji and I aren't friends."

Ok, Naruto thought, so maybe it wasn't Sasuke's way of showing he cared. Before he could accuse the man of anything further, the faint sound of buzzing filled the silence.

Surprised, Naruto reached into his bag to grab his phone, thinking maybe Sakura was calling him again. However, when he glanced down at the device, he saw that the screen was blank, only then remembering he had just turned it off. He looked to Sasuke then and gaped in shock at the sight of Sasuke pulling his own phone out. He stared down at it for a moment with a deep frown on his face. Like Naruto had earlier, he ignored the call.

Unable to hide his curiosity, Naruto moved forward, trying to steal a peek at the name on the screen. Sasuke noticed the movement and palmed the phone so the screen was hidden before returning it to his pocket. He accompanied the move with a glare. Naruto didn't take the hint to back away.

"Was that Neji?" he asked, curious despite himself.

Naruto examined Sasuke's normally blank face in silent fascination as a look – of annoyance? confusion? – flashed over the features. Until then he had only seen two expressions: anger and disdain. The blank one didn't count. As such, he couldn't exactly say he was a genius when it came to reading the man's expressions and was relieved when he actually spoke, "Why do you think it was Neji?"

"You have other friends?" Naruto was shocked and unable to hide it as he stared with wide eyes.

"Don't be an idiot," Sasuke scowled and Naruto was clearly able to identify the expression as irritation then. Even as he was pushed to the side, Naruto grinned before he followed the man out.

"So it was Neji!" he concluded. Sasuke continued his steady pace towards the exit, no longer bothering with giving the blond any attention.

Naruto watched his only distraction from Sakura disappear out the door.

"Son of a bitch," he cursed at the man even though he couldn't hear it. But it served himself right for assuming he could use the bastard for anything other than sparring. The man's hesitation to admit he had positive relationships with anyone was truly astounding. If anything, it only made Naruto more curious than if he had simply admitted a passing acquaintance and moved on. After all, asshole or not, the man had to have some semblance of a personal life. Didn't he?

Making a face at the thought of someone befriending the arrogant man, Naruto began to make his way home. While that night had failed in getting him to learn anything about his enigmatic sparring partner, it was only the first night of many. Besides, Kiba was probably free.

* * *

The second time Naruto missed Sakura's call, several days later, he was entirely innocent. The vibrations went completely unnoticed as he fought with Kiba for the last slice of bread in the bread basket. Ignoring a painful jab to his side, his grip on the tortured slice tightened and in one smooth move, he jerked the piece free from Kiba's clenched fist.

"Ha!" he crowed, holding the slice up in victory as he fell back into his seat.

"Go ahead, have it. It's disgusting now anyway," Kiba said, appearing unfazed over his defeat, and grinned when Naruto glanced down at his prize. The grin fell into a disgusted grimace when he simply shrugged his shoulders and popped the piece into his mouth.

"Actually," he said through chewed food, "It's delicious."

"W-we, um, we could have ordered more," Hinata finally spoke up once the commotion had died down, voice carrying a note of hesitation. "For free."

Naruto paused in his chewing to stare at her. Even Kiba looked surprised, "Seriously? Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

He felt like a bully when her face flushed instantly and her hands rose before her as tried to explain that she had, in fact, tried to break up their fight but they hadn't heard her over the shouting. At the explanation, Naruto shrugged again. He smiled reassuringly at her, pleased when she returned the smile with one of her own.

"Oh well," he said. "No harm done! Right, Hinata?"

It had been pure luck that they had been able to make it out for lunch. With Hinata leaving the next day, it was their only opportunity for one last hurrah. However, executing the plan to meet up had not seemed to be an easy one at first. Hinata had informed them over the phone that, without her cousin's approval, she would not be able to meet them unless it was at Neji's house. After a tense moment, Naruto requested to speak with Neji and, after a surprisingly uneventful phone call, Hinata was on her way to meet them - Neji in tow.

Thankfully, however, Neji had cited other business and split from their company almost immediately upon arriving at the restaurant. Although he had entered with them, he had disappeared through a small divider in the side wall, leaving them to their own table at the back with the promise he would retrieve them later. A later that just so happened to be right then, judging by the disappointed look on Hinata's look when her phone rang.

"Is that Neji?" Naruto leaned over the table to glance at the screen, pushing her hand with the phone down to get a better look. Seeing the displayed name, Naruto pulled the phone from a protesting Hinata and pressed it to his ear. "Hey Neji!"

Silence greeted him for a moment, before Neji's voice came through the small speaker, "Where is Hinata?"

In a great show of self-control, Naruto refrained from rolling his eyes as he answered, "Sitting in front of me. Right where you left her."

"I see." Another pause before he continued. "Please send her out. I'm waiting in front."

Naruto's gaze met Hinata's wide eyes and Kiba's questioning look, both wanting to know how the conversation was going. He looked down at the empty plates on their tables before grinning at his friends with a wink. "Actually, we're not done eating yet. Why don't you come join us?"

Kiba started to make jerking, spastic moves, waving his hands in a desperate attempt to convey his absolute disagreement with such a suggestion. Hinata's eyes only widened further, no doubt confused why he would extend an invite into their comfortable atmosphere. Ignoring Kiba entirely, he mouthed to Hinata a simple, "Don't worry!"

Although silent, Neji's hesitation spoke volumes. Clearly, he agreed with Kiba's assessment. Eventually, he broke the silence with a clipped, "If I must."

Surprised, Naruto stared at the phone. Neji had hung up.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "He's actually coming!"

Kiba finally punched him in the arm then, nearly rocking him from the seat with the force. "Why the hell did you invite that guy here?"

"I thought he would say no!" Naruto held his arms up in defense, equally as confused. He looked apologetically to Hinata, but the girl was already smiling at him.

"I-it'll be okay, Naruto."

Had anyone bothered to pay attention to their reaction, they would have imagined Naruto had just invited the Apocalypse. In contrast, Neji's arrival came silently up behind Naruto's chair, made apparent only by Hinata's suddenly stiff expression. Taking the expression as his cue, Naruto turned with a grin on his face, determined to take this new development in stride.

"Hey!" he greeted with a big smile, raising his hand to wave at the longhaired man. He could see an eyebrow twitch in response and his smile widened.

Instead of insulting him, as Naruto expected, Neji only nodded before stepping aside to expose the man behind him.

Naruto's eyes widened at the sight that met him and his body involuntarily jerked, arm painfully colliding with the table. He barely heard the sound of glass jumping or Kiba's surprised, "Hey, watch it!" as he instinctively reached out to steady the table. In fact, all he could focus on was the man standing before him – it was none other than Sasuke.

"You!"

Naruto couldn't help but blurt out. Of all the places he thought he would run into the man, showing up then and there had not even been an option. By the look on his face, he was not happy to see him either. Nonetheless, Naruto pushed on.

"So you _are_ friends with Neji!"

Naruto had no idea why the man kept denying it. All the signs were there. They went to the same martial arts place, he had caught them having dinner together, and now he was once again in the man's company.

"Hn."

Naruto squinted at the grunt, unable to decipher its meaning. Neji chose that moment to speak up, a small smirk on his face. "Now that you have been reacquainted, we should get going, Hinata."

At the words, Naruto broke from his stupor and turned his attention to his friend's cousin. "So soon? But you just got here!" He ignored the not so subtle jab at his side from Kiba, no doubt a reminder that Neji leaving quickly was a _good_ thing. This was his one opportunity to force Sasuke to interact with him and by god, he was going to take advantage of that.

"Hey, Hinata!" The girl straightened in apprehension at his call, "Tell your cousin to stay. We're still eating."

"It looks like you're finished," Sasuke finally spoke up and Naruto's head jerked around again. Sasuke's gaze was on the table, taking in the empty plates and glasses.

"What? No," he countered. "We were just about to order more bread, right guys?" He looked to his companions, both watching him blankly. When neither responded, he prompted further, "_Right_, guys?" Finally, they nodded, slowly. At the movement, he turned to grin at the two behind him, "See?"

Both men looked unimpressed and Neji turned his attention to the only girl at the table. "Hinata, we should leave now. Sasuke and I still need to prepare for the meeting in a few hours."

It was then Naruto noticed their attire – both in formal business suits. Perhaps Neji's comment about having business to attend to had been a genuine one. Still, business or no, there was no need for Sasuke to accompany Neji just to retrieve the man's cousin. Even if they had had lunch together, he could have left on his own.

At the prompt, Hinata rose gracefully from her seat with a quiet, "I understand." As she moved to stand by Neji's side, she smiled down at the disappointed looks on her friends' faces. "Naruto, Kiba – thank you for coming. I had fun."

Naruto moved faster than Kiba, rising from his seat to clap a hand against her back, unaware of the way her face slowly reddened, "Don't worry about it, Hinata. Of course we'd come." He jerked his thumb in the general direction of Neji. "Even if we have to go through that prick."

If either cousin had anything to say, it was interrupted by Kiba's cheeky interjection, "Yeah, although he'll complain about it like a baby the entire time."

Naruto opened his mouth to refute the truth behind the statement but Neji moved then.

"Please," he said, gesturing with an arm towards the entrance of the restaurant, "We should go."

He nodded in a polite, if silent, good-bye to both Naruto and Kiba, surprising them both. Even more surprising to Naruto, however, was that Sasuke failed to follow him right away. Instead his eyes locked with Naruto's and Naruto found his grin widening into a smirk.

"Even though I suspected it all along, I'm actually pretty surprised you have a friend."

Sasuke's frown deepened and he responded in kind, "I could say the same for you."

It was the first time he'd acknowledged Kiba's existence and despite the arrogance in the statement, Naruto turned to his friend to once again jerk his thumb impolitely in Sasuke's direction, "Kiba, meet Sasuke, the asshole I told you about. Apparently he's friend's with Neji."

Kiba didn't smile, meeting Sasuke's frown with apprehension, "Uh, nice to meet you?"

Sasuke didn't even twitch at the greeting. Instead, his gaze flicked back to Naruto, who disregarded his gut reaction to punch the man in the face for rudely ignoring his friend. "I'm not interested in becoming acquainted with your friends, moron."

Admirably, Naruto didn't react to the jibe, instead he stuck his tongue out childishly at the stoic man. "Too bad, asshole. Don't come creeping along with Neji next time then."

Knowing how much it likely bothered the man to be associated with Naruto only made the opportunities to pester him more inviting. The more he resisted, the more determined Naruto would become. At the thought, he grinned with self-satisfaction. Sasuke wouldn't know what hit him.

After a moment of silence, the man finally responded, taking in the expression with narrowed eyes, "Mind you own business, Naruto."

At that, he turned and left without much fanfare, slipping through the tables with a quiet confidence. Naruto, for his part, was left staring after him, mouth hanging open in shock. At the look, Kiba nudged him to get his attention, "What?"

Naruto's own brows shot up before going lax as he smiled. Kiba's eyes narrowed in confusion at the look.

"Wow," the blond finally said. "I didn't realize he actually knew my name."

He hated to admit it, but the knowledge made him feel good. He wouldn't go so far as to say he felt honored and neither was he sure if Sasuke knowing his name was good or bad. He actually reminded him a lot of Neji, he concluded. The two were fairly similar in their hesitance to accept him and disregard for his presence. They had to be friends.

"Actually," Kiba's voice cut through his thoughts. "Didn't Hinata just say your name?"

Damnit, Kiba.

* * *

Sakura called again at the end of the week, making it three times in one week. It was a record high for the woman; she normally called him never. Naruto decided he was semi-innocent that time, seeing as his phone had stopped ringing the second he pulled it out.

He made a face at the screen, unsure if he should call back. He looked up across the room where Sasuke was moving smoothly through his routine. As far as distractions went, sparring with Sasuke was an easy out.

The man had not been any more amicable than before their brief encounter. The intensity with which he attacked Naruto forced him to concentrate on responding to just that. Thoughts of class starting that Monday were distant. The decision of what to do with Sakura was also blissfully far away.

Naruto again tried to invite Sasuke for dinner, only to be turned down. It didn't really bother him that time, fully expecting the no. Only time would tell whose stubbornness would outlast the other. Even having just a vague idea of Sasuke's personality, Naruto was confident he could at least win this much.

Instead he called Shikamaru, who was, unsurprisingly, free. He devoted most of the night trying to convince the lazy student to sign up for Iruka's class along with him. Luckily for Naruto, Shikamaru was an easy target.

* * *

Sunday night found Naruto at the restaurant, spending his last free night before the return of dull schoolwork working a late shift.

"Naruto!" A faceless voice called from the kitchen entrance. "Someone wants you at table five!"

He called back a simple, "Got it!" before pushing through the double doors leading into the dining area, easily slipping into a confident gait and welcome smile as he approached the table in the back – a smile that quickly fell flat and steps that slowed into a horrified walk to his death. He could recognize that pink hair anywhere.

When the woman lifted her gaze from the menu, he was already standing beside her table.

"Hey," he said in greeting, awkwardly.

"Hey," she returned, a small grin on her face. After a brief moment of silence, she continued, "I'm surprised you didn't run away at the sight of me."

"I wouldn't run!" He lied, acutely aware of his apprehension in the face of her relaxed attitude. That she knew and didn't care he had been avoiding her after the confession did little to assuage his embarrassment at being caught – even if he would deny it to no end.

"Hm, right," Sakura laughed. "Like you didn't run the first time we met."

Naruto flushed at the reference to their disastrous first meeting, recalling he definitely had run away in self preservation at the time. He tried to defend his actions, despite the red still strong on his face, "That was a fluke! I couldn't fight a girl in public."

"Of course," the agreement came too easily and Naruto's suspicions were confirmed when she continued casually, "It would be pretty humiliating for a girl to beat you up in front of everyone."

Before he thought through the action, he slammed a hand down onto the table and leaned down to glare at her. To his chagrin, the woman didn't even lean away from the threatening stance, "Are you saying I'm weak?"

"No, I'm saying you've been avoiding me and I want to know why."

Naruto drew back in surprise, completely caught off guard by the blunt response and blurted out an unconscious denial, "I'm not avoiding you."

Sakura rolled her eyes at that, "Please, Naruto. I think I've avoided enough people to recognize what's happening here."

She watched as he rubbed the back of his head nervously, "No, I'm not avoiding you. I've just been busy." He waved his hand meaninglessly around, as if to trying to convey how busy he truly was with the hurried movement.

The unconvincing excuse was met with a slight nod, "I understand. Well, I hope you're not too busy to meet me after work tonight."

"Oh, after work? It's already pretty late. I don't know if you'd want to wait for my shift – "

"Your friend said you were off in ten minutes."

" – Because, yeah, some people think that's just too long a time to wait for someone to, uh, get off work."

Sakura laughed at that before leaning forward on her arms to smile endearingly up at him, "I think I can manage ten minutes, Naruto."

He couldn't help but smile in return at her expectant gaze. "Okay," he agreed. "I'll take you somewhere nice."

At the words, Sakura finally leaned back with satisfaction, nodding confidently as Naruto turned to leave, "That's what I thought."

On his way back to the kitchen, Naruto muttered to himself over her pushiness, completely ignoring the fact he was hardly bothered by it at all. He swore he would kill whoever had told her his schedule. However, throwing a glance at the woman seated at the table before he slipped out of view, Naruto couldn't find it in himself to completely justify the anger.

* * *

"I knew it."

Naruto turned to glance at the pink-haired woman over his shoulder, the lights from the ramen stand highlighting her unimpressed expression.

"This is the only place you'd consider nice."

"Oh, come on. You know this is the greatest place in town."

"No," came the slow response. "I don't think I do."

Naruto moved back a few steps to stand beside the hesitant girl and threw an arm over her shoulder, "Trust me. Things don't get any better than this."

He began to steer her forward without much resistance and in a matter of minutes they were seated on two adjacent stools, waiting for their orders to arrive.

Ichiraku was magical. It had to be the ramen stand that made it so easy for him to relax, as if Sakura had never humiliated him with her secret, as if he hadn't ignored her for a week because of it. Even though he wanted to ask her why she had led him on, he instead found himself talking easily with her again, laughing at something obnoxiously until she punched him – hard – on the arm, threatening him with more force if he continued to annoy her.

Naruto hid the wince, twisting it into a smirk as he turned to her, looking her up and down and missing the pink that spread over her cheeks. "As if you could do anything," he taunted her small figure, feeling confident there was no way she could prove him wrong.

"You shouldn't make stupid assumptions," the girl said in reply, voice flat.

"I'm not," Naruto continued, unaware of her growing ire and the hole he was digging himself into. "It's so obvious."

"Really," Sakura questioned. "And what makes it so obvious?"

For once Naruto let the silence speak for him and just looked at her, taking in her delicate features, perfectly manicured nails, and well-groomed hair. Sakura didn't seem to appreciate the implications of his gaze. She rose from her seat abruptly and slammed a few notes onto the counter before the surprised chef.

Before Naruto could say anything about wanting to pay, he was pulled roughly off the stool and dragged behind an angrily stomping Sakura.

He gently tried to extricate himself from her furiously tight grip and when the soft tugs did nothing to loosen her hold, he called out hesitantly, cupping his free hand around his mouth so his voice could reach her ears, "H-hey, Sakura? Where are we going?"

Sakura stopped suddenly, again surprising Naruto when she spun around to jab a finger harshly into his chest.

"You," she said angrily, "really annoy me!"

Naruto just stared before asking carefully with absolute seriousness in his voice, "Are you going to… kill me?"

"What?" Sakura let go of him then and Naruto refrained from rubbing the sore area. "Don't be an idiot!"

It was another of those lines Naruto seemed to be hearing often. It was starting to annoy him but before he could comment, Sakura continued.

"We're going Lee's!" Naruto's eyes widened in shock. So she really was going to try proving him wrong. "So you finally shut up!"

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea."

The idea of going to Lee's with Sakura petrified him. Not because he honestly believed Sakura had the ability to kick his ass, but because he dreaded the idea of running into Sasuke with Sakura in tow. Who knew how the night would progress if the two met. Most likely, the man would try to humiliate him – and succeed. At the very worst, Sakura might take a liking to him instead. Recalling the sudden loss in intelligence from the female audience during Sasuke's lecture, he wouldn't put it past her.

The girl smirked at the comment, hands placed firmly on her hips, "Oh, so now you're scared."

Embarrassed at the conclusion she reached, Naruto denied the claim loudly. "Like hell I'm scared of some puny little girl!"

Green eyes narrowed in challenge, "That's because you don't know what this 'puny little girl' is capable of."

Truthfully, if Naruto had any common sense, he would back down from such a challenge. Unfortunately, his pride had other ideas in mind. As the two made their way to the Heavenly Gates in quick strides, Naruto didn't bother giving reason any time in the spotlight.

* * *

Sakura looked ridiculous on the mat before him, her clothes entirely too dressy for any sort of physical activity. Naruto at least had the advantage of wearing a loose pair of jeans. He had lucked out in other ways as well; the place was thankfully absent of any other night-time regulars.

They both had removed their shoes at the door, Sakura shrinking another inch with the loss of artificial height. Truthfully, she wasn't all that much shorter than him, and if Naruto were completely honest with himself, she did look intimidating in her confidence.

The two stared at each other.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Naruto asked in one last-ditch effort to discourage her competitive spirit.

The pink-haired girl only scoffed at the attempt, "Just worry about yourself, Naruto."

Naruto couldn't help it. He had spent so long going all out against Sasuke that he wasn't sure if he could hold himself back entirely. He didn't want an accidental injury sitting on his conscious.

Sakura sprang forward without so much as a sound and Naruto barely dodged the incoming blow. The punch was followed by a kick to the side, which he did manage to block easily, holding her leg in place before pushing her back. To her credit, she didn't stumble, instead straightening immediately and coming at him again.

He was impressed with her speed, realizing that she probably did have a fair amount of experience behind her. Mind wandering over her claims of superiority, Naruto was unprepared for the blow that made his vision darken around the edges. He fell back a few steps, leaning forward to gasp for air.

He glanced up in shock through his bangs where Sakura was smirking down at him in triumph, "Are you done underestimating me?"

The next time she sprung into action, Naruto was ready. Noting she moved faster than before, he wondered distantly if she had only been testing him. The thought fueled his own competitive drive. Apparently, he wouldn't need to hold back after all. When Sakura sensed the shift in power behind his attacks, she grinned and Naruto's stomach flipped uncomfortably at the sight. She looked beautiful.

Sakura was clearly skilled, he could acknowledge that much – skilled to the point they may even be considered equals. It wasn't an epiphany he appreciated. The next punch she threw at him, he caught solidly. He did the same with the next, holding onto both her fists.

Her eyes widened in surprise before narrowing. He jumped back then, letting her go before her knee could make contact with his groin.

She was breathing hard, absently brushing a few strands of hair from her eyes as she watched him from a safe distance.

Naruto grinned at her, feeling the fight was coming to an end. He would finish it with the next move. Without any warning, he moved forward quickly, managing to catch Sakura off-guard. However, the blow he had planned never reached its target. Instead, he felt something take a hold of his arm and suddenly everything was upside down.

When his back hit the floor, the wind rushed from his lungs and he choked at the sudden loss of air. He stared up in surprise at a gloating Sakura and before she could open her mouth, he swiped her feet from under her. She landed solidly on the ground with a cry. When she was level with him, he jumped towards her, expecting to pin her down but suddenly found himself on his back, staring up into amused green eyes.

"What?" He gasped, breathlessly.

Sakura grinned down at him as she pinned his arms by his head. He tried to buck her from his body, but her hold was firm, pushing him down with her weight towards the floor so he couldn't gain any leverage. After a brief moment's struggle, he stopped, feeling his muscles relax as he blinked up at her in complete surprise.

"Okay," he said, confused at his position. "This is embarrassing."

The triumphant grin on her face only widened as she leaned forward, "I win."

Naruto conceded, realizing he couldn't easily break her hold. At the nod, Sakura didn't immediately release him.

"All right," Naruto admitted, licking his lips. He tugged at his hands, but Sakura wasn't letting go. "I admit that you're good."

"Thought so."

He licked his lips again, starting to feel sore and uncomfortable from the position. "Okay, Sakura," he tried again, hoping this time she would let him up. She had already demonstrated her abilities, there was no reason to continue holding him down. "You can let go now."

She was silent for a moment before she nodded. However, instead of loosening her grip her fingers tightened considerably and she leaned down. Naruto's eyes widened in shock when he felt her lips press against his in a light kiss.

He blinked at the blurry image of her face up close, unable to do anything but remain still. When Sakura pulled away, his expression remained the same.

"Sakura, I, uh," he choked on the words but Sakura got the message. Abruptly, she released him, pulling back with an embarrassed look on her face as she hastily rolled off and away him.

He propped himself up on his elbows as he continued to stare at her in shock. Her face was as pink as her hair.

He cleared his throat before he could speak, letting the words flow before his mind could catch up to the moment, "I thought you were married."

She flinched, hesitating as she struggled with her words. "Naruto, I," she hesitated. The look on her face didn't suit her. "No, you're right. I'm sorry."

"I mean, you just told me," he said, wanting to convey his confusion in hope that she would explain something to him. "I thought you wanted to be friends."

Sakura refused to look at him, making him feel uncomfortable in the process. When she spoke, her voice was firm but subdued, "I know. Just forget it, okay? Nothing happened just now."

But Naruto didn't get the hint, unable to let his disbelief go. "Sakura," he asked, suddenly really wanting to know the answer. "Why did you agree to go on a date with me?"

It was the wrong thing to say because Sakura looked away then, but Naruto could see the frown that settled on her face before she lowered her head into one hand.

"I know," she said, even though Naruto didn't know what exactly she knew. "I'm sorry."

The dejected tone was doing nothing to appease his curiosity. In fact, her vague words and depressing apologies were only making him feel guilty, as if it were entirely his fault she was feeling so down.

"No, it's not that," he began in an attempt to cheer her up, moving closer to place a hand on her shoulder and ignoring the way she stiffened at the contact. "It's just that, girls aren't exactly falling over at my feet let alone some married woman…"

"I'm not falling at your feet."

Naruto held back a grin at the indignant tone. At least it was better than misery. He played innocent, "Aren't you?"

Sakura smacked him flat onto the ground, rolling him over and pinning him down again. The position was much more painful than before, this time caught on his stomach.

"Say that again?" the woman threatened.

Naruto struggled futilely against her hold for a bit. He could feel his face flush with embarrassment for being pinned for a second time and when her grip failed to slacken even slightly, he stilled again, instead fighting with his words.

"Damnit, fine, I give! I give! Just, fuck, let me go!"

Sakura released him again and slid off to the side. Naruto remained laying on his stomach, panting lightly, cheek pressed to the mat as he faced her. She fell onto her back, gaze resting on the ceiling.

"You have to teach me that move."

Sakura only snorted, eyes never leaving the ceiling. "Can't. It's my specialty."

"What? That's not fair. I let you beat me; it's only right I get something out of it too."

Sakura snapped up onto her elbows, giving him a sour look at his inaccurate description of their fight. "You – you let me beat you? Are you crazy?"

Naruto shrugged. "I might change my mind if you change yours."

Sakura groaned, flopping back down without dignifying him with a response, although he swore he heard a quietly mumbled, "Idiot." This was the payment he got for trying to cheer her up. Watching her chest rise and fall with her slowing breaths, he wondered if it had worked.

They lay there in silence, Sakura with her eyes closed, Naruto watching her deep in thought. Shikamaru had said it wasn't uncommon but he wanted to ask her what she thought. Her intentions had been clear, even to him. He didn't know her reasons but he wondered if it even mattered. It didn't have to be anything serious, he thought. Naruto's eyes roamed over her blank face, taking in the frown.

"So, hypothetically speaking, of course," he began, forming his thoughts into speech as he kept her profile in sight. "Let's say you and I hook up."

Her eyes fluttered at the words, but remained closed in the end. Naruto plunged forward, "Would that make me your mistress?"

Naruto watched the corner of her lip twitch.

"Or would I be a mister?"

Sakura finally turned to him then, and Naruto could see the beginnings of a smile on her face, "I don't think there's a word for it."

"Hey, I'm being serious here," Naruto rolled onto his side, propping his head up on his hand when she told him to let it go. "Would I be your boytoy?"

Sakura instantly made a face at the word, shaking her head furiously.

"That'd make a lot of sense, actually," he continued, ignoring the look on her face. "You're a hot cougar – "

"A cougar? I'm not that much older than you!"

"Right. So you're a cougar and now you've found yourself this hot, sexy young guy to, hey, where are you going?"

"You're really annoying," the girl said as she sat up. Naruto grabbed her wrist before she could stand and began pulling her down towards him. She stopped moving to stare expectantly at him.

"You're going to beat me up everyday, aren't you?" he finally asked after a moment of silence

Sakura stared at him, gaze flicking from one eye to the other before her expression softened into a hesitant smile, "Probably."

Despite the answer, Naruto returned the smile easily. He dropped her wrist and sighed dramatically before flopping back onto the mat. He waited anxiously as she sat there and breathed an inaudible sigh of relief when she lowered herself back onto the mat as well.

"You know, I feel pretty stupid for saying this but, I actually look forward to it."

When he turned to look at her, she was already looking at him in surprise. In all honesty, he couldn't blame her – especially after his hesitance from only a moment before. Instead of addressing the questioning look, he relaxed further, stretching out his legs before him and resting his arms behind his head.

"You're pretty sexy when you use that manly strength of yours."

Even with his eyes closed, he could see the punch coming from a mile away. It was the blow that would seal the deal and, even as he turned to retaliate in kind, catching the woman off-guard, he only hoped that he could justify the decision later.

It wasn't until he had returned home, falling down next to a lazy Kiba relaxing on the couch before the television set, that he realized he shouldn't have made such a decision in haste.

"Hey, Kiba," he said as his friend flipped disinterestedly from channel to channel. When all he received was a grunt, he continued, "What's the male version of a mistress?"

"A manwhore," came the quick response.

"Oh," he replied, having nothing else to say to the efficiency with which the answer was given. He remained for another few channel flips before deciding to call it a day.

As he climbed into bed, any remaining hesitance he felt disappeared with the single vibration of his phone. Flipping his phone open, he stared down in surprise at the new message.

"Good night!" his screen read. He grinned at the cheesy heart that followed, having difficulty likening the use of the symbol to the headstrong woman behind it. Knowing she wouldn't answer, Naruto pressed the call button. Busy preparing for the voicemail he was planning to leave, Naruto jumped at the sharp voice that answered, "What?"

He grinned despite the irritation he could practically feel through the line, "Why are you awake?"

"I'm going to bed now."

"Oh. Is your husband home?"

There was a pause before the girl spoke up again, any lingering warmth from before gone immediately, "Why did you call, Naruto?"

He could tell he had stepped over a line with the question. No mentioning the spouse, he took note. Trying to salvage the conversation, he returned to his previous line of questioning, "Hey, can't a boytoy call to wish his favorite cougar a good night?"

There was a resigned groan at the question and Naruto congratulated himself for managing to lighten the situation, "Not if he's obnoxious."

"Actually, I found out what they call a male mistress."

"I don't want to know."

"Are you sure? It's pretty juicy."

"Good night, Naruto."

At the silence that followed, he knew she had hung up. He laughed at the exasperation in her voice before closing his own phone and climbing into bed. He slept soundly that night. It was easy when he had no idea what the future had in store for him.

**TBC**

* * *

**Notes:**

Before anyone asks, yes, there will be sasunaru. I know the focus has been sakunaru so far so I hope that doesn't drive anyone away. Although I'm not going to lie, if you're only here for the sasunaru, you may be disappointed.

Okay, so that sounds way too serious. I don't mean for it to be. Anyway, the general consensus seems to be that Sakura is married to Sasuke, which I sort of find amusing. Also, I had this really sad epiphany the other day: I've categorized this as drama and romance but I hate drama and I'm as romantic as a fart. Not sure why I did this to myself.

_Edit: 4/17/12. This revision took forever. Not a big fan of it. Oh well. _


	9. Chapter 8

**Previously: **Shikamaru inadvertently convinces Naruto to accept Sakura's infidelity; Sakura proves she is more than capable of kicking Naruto's ass, and; Sasuke successfully thwarts all of Naruto's unambitious attempts at friendship.

**Regarding the long absence:** So sorry! This is a bit of a feeler chapter to determine if anyone out there is still interested. If so, I'll do my best to update quickly and consistently. If I foresee another long break, I'll save everyone the grief and just post how this ends. Anyway, I went back and made several edits, none of which affect the plot. I tried to reduce Sasuke's asshole factor, but he really fought (and continues to fight) me on this.

In my rush to get this chapter out, my writing got a little lazy. So, as usual, I apologize for the crappy quality. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts!

* * *

Chapter Eight  
_Repeat offender_

* * *

Two weeks into his summer class with Iruka and Naruto had found a comfortable balance between school, work, and play.

Dating Sakura was a lot like sparring with her. She was intimidating and demanding in nearly all aspects of her life, he discovered. But she was equally as caring, and the rare moments where she softened up made Naruto grin randomly like a fool. It had taken him a while to loosen up and fully accept their situation; if he were to date her, eventually things would have to get physical – beyond the everyday fist to his face, that is.

It helped knowing she was not looking for a serious commitment. It was strange; not once, since his days of fantasizing began – filled with many awkward mornings and nervous encounters – had he imagined a woman like Sakura. He would never admit such a thing to her, even if the reason behind it had nothing to do with her.

Despite a history of failed romances that should have humbled him but didn't, Naruto was not sexually insecure. It simply never occurred to him that a Sakura-type woman was what he would have wanted. In few words, she was exactly like the man he wanted to become: strong, proud, respectable. A lot like Sasuke, actually. It was a strange, somewhat awkward conclusion to come to, but one he arrived at nonetheless - after spending the majority of the night being pummeled into the mats by a lady nearly half his size.

Sakura smirked from her superior position above him. Naruto never thought it possible, and would deny it vehemently in the future, but he could actually liken the image to that of his nemesis, hovering above him in much the same way. From his position on the floor, she looked both imposing and intimidating – much larger than her actual size.

Naruto would bet that she was stronger than Sasuke, even. Although, if he were to properly compare the two, she showed much less grace in her form than Sasuke. He licked his lips nervously as he concentrated on her feet. If he timed his move perfectly, as she had directed earlier, and maneuvered just so –

Sakura went down with a startled cry and Naruto wasted no time in crawling over to pin her down. He grinned, satisfied, at her sour face. Unable to resist, he tauntingly said, "I told you I could learn your move by the end of the night."

The girl struggled against his hold unconvincingly – he had no doubt he would be flying across the room if her pride didn't allow her to be pinned down. When he felt her muscles relax, he slacked his grip in one hand to slide it along her jaw and cup the side of her face. His smile softened at the hint of a blush starting along the bridge of her nose. But then Sakura slapped the appendage away.

"Not in public," she explained away the harshness of her action, apparently ignorant of their compromising position.

Unluckily for Sakura, Naruto was not easily deterred. Leaning down suddenly, he pressed a quick kiss to surprised lips before pushing himself up and rolling away. Though he moved quickly, he could feel the rush of air pass where his head had been only seconds before.

"Naruto! Get back here!"

Naruto shook his head from where he stood several meters away. The distance wouldn't protect him against an enraged Sakura, but it was a comforting thought that it might buy him some time if he needed to run.

"I'm not going to hit you."

"Right," he agreed, not moving an inch due to her less than gentle expression.

"Really, Naruto, I won't hit you," she tried again while beckoning for him to come closer. After a moment, Naruto did. At her self-satisfied grin, he held back a smirk of his own. She was only being too obvious with such a look – even Naruto could see it. When he had taken the few steps closer to her, he preempted her strike with one of his own, swiping her feet the same way she had been trying to teach him all night.

He wasted no time to fall down with her, pressing his lips to hers in a complete non-kiss before she had time to react. Unable to hold back his mirth, the laughter escaped in a burst against her closed mouth and he accepted the fist to his side. Chuckling even as he rolled away, he took note of the threat of impending doom and climbed to his feet in record time. This time, the wind that gushed after him was razor sharp.

"Naruto!"

An angry Sakura was a sight to see. It should have been unnerving to be seeing it so soon after knowing her, but Naruto was fascinated. He laughed even though, this time, she took chase.

* * *

Honestly, he had a lot of questions.

He would be lying, unconvincingly, if he said he never thought of her husband. Truthfully, he often tried to imagine the sort of man Sakura would marry, the sort of man she would willingly remain attached to. He'd be lying even more if he said it didn't bother him. On more than one occasion, he wanted to ask. However, apparently, there were rules. Sakura had resolutely established as much and confused him thoroughly whenever she broke them.

He had been testing the boundaries; her most recent "not in public" rule contrasted sharply with their date before. He had a hard time connecting that Sakura, who had willingly gone out with him, had even looped her arm in his, with the Sakura who blushed and fumed over a simple kiss, even in a place as empty as Lee's martial arts center. He could hardly call it public when no one was there to see it.

Under such circumstances, he wondered if he would ever know the real Sakura.

* * *

"You know," Naruto said to an uninterested Shikamaru. "I've never had a girlfriend."

Shikamaru made a soft, undecipherable sound but the, "Why me?" was unmistakable. Naruto ignored it.

"I mean, even now, with Sakura. She's not really my girlfriend. It's weird."

"I'm sure you're also the type to be oblivious when a girl is attracted to you."

Naruto frowned, offended. "What? I'm not a virgin!"

"Not physically. Emotionally. Attracted to you emotionally."

The frown turned contemplative. "I don't know. Except for Hinata, I don't really get along with girls that way. And Hinata's a little weird. She always acts strange around me, turning bright red and stuff."

"Case in point."

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's discuss the homework."

* * *

Lately, Lee had also become a source of discomfort.

It was unavoidable, considering Sakura had led up to the M-bomb by describing a long, deep friendship with the man. A friendship in which the man had, at some point, resolutely pursued her affections. Hopefully, both had moved on but the idea that Lee may know and, in the worst-case scenario, be friends with Sakura's husband was a scary thought, indeed.

Whenever Lee smiled at him with those twinkling teeth, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if under the open, friendly gaze actually lay a disappointed bystander who had picked up on their less than noble actions. However, he trusted Sakura to keep their interactions a closely guarded secret. As difficult as it was for Naruto to bottle his thoughts, not even Kiba knew. Yet.

His overactive imagination made sparring with Lee uncomfortable. He tried to be subtle in his avoidance but subtlety had never been part of his nature. When Lee invited him out before or afterwards, he found himself unconvincingly making excuses: too much homework, "Sorry, I already have plans," an exhausting work day.

That night, before Lee walked through the doors, Naruto casually made his way over to where Sasuke was quietly stretching in preparation of his practice.

"Hey, Sasuke," he called, purposefully using his actual name rather than the customary slur. Sasuke glanced up from where he was bent over one leg, meeting Naruto's hopeful gaze with a questioning look. "Let's be partners today."

Lee walked in just as the question left his lips and Sasuke's gaze jumped immediately to the man before returning to Naruto again, standing expectantly before him. The look was filled with suspicion, but luckily for Naruto, he agreed without any further prodding, "That's fine."

Naruto held back the triumphant look as he turned to Lee with a casual wave, "Hey there, Lee! Glad you finally made it. Hope you don't mind, but I'm gonna practice with Sasuke tonight."

Lee didn't even hesitate before bursting into a bright, encouraging smile. "That's great! I'm glad that you're finally getting along enough to work with him while I'm here."

Naruto nodded, feeling like a jerk for misleading his friend. If only he knew he was seeking Sasuke in an effort to avoid befriending him further. He turned to Sasuke just as he was finishing his stretches. "So… You ready, then?"

The great thing about avoiding Lee was that Sasuke was an excellent sparring partner. While Lee certainly offered helpful tips and feedback, it wasn't until he fought with Sasuke that he felt pushed to his limits. Surprisingly, sparring with Sakura had proven very useful; he easily avoided a move that would have winded him three weeks ago. The problem was getting her to commit – unless he provoked her, she rarely accepted his invitations to practice.

As the night wore down, Naruto finally collapsed onto the mat, hands splayed out on either side of him.

"I've gotten better, huh?" he gloated, noting Sasuke's heavy breathing.

"You have," he responded. Naruto froze, gaping up in shock at the man over the unexpected praise. However, Sasuke didn't allow him to savor it for long. "Although you still focus too much on attacking and not enough of your defense. Your moves are too obvious; learn to feint properly."

Naruto wrinkled his nose at the assessment; Sakura had told him something similar. He had thought he had made progress but apparently he still had much to learn. "Okay, so I'll practice my feinting."

"That was a great match, Naruto!" Lee's voice interrupted their brief conversation, surprising Naruto and causing him to jump. "I'm really impressed with your progress!"

The blond smiled sheepishly at the praise. Lee always made him feel better after a particularly brutal match with Sasuke. Although, this time, he didn't feel like he needed any buffer between them. "Thanks. Although, it sounds like I have a bit to work on."

Lee nodded, crossing his arms in a thoughtful pose. "Yes, what Sasuke said is true: your defense definitely needs strengthening. In fact, I think you should continue practicing with Sasuke instead of with me. His style compliments your weakness and will force you to concentrate on holding back. I can already see you've come a long way since you first joined us."

Unsure how to take Lee's words – as compliments or a lecture – Naruto simply nodded. About to comment that he wasn't sure if he could handle working with just Sasuke every night, Lee continued, turning with a pleased smile towards the dark haired man who was quietly observing their interaction.

"Actually, Sasuke, you've improved too. I think sparring with Naruto has been good for you!"

Naruto couldn't hold back the satisfied smirk at the thought he had been instrumental in helping Sasuke improve as well. He threw a glance in the other's direction and found himself scowling; Sasuke didn't seem to care too much if the blank look was any indication.

"He does have a unique fighting style," the man agreed, meeting Naruto's gaze evenly. Unwillingly, Naruto could feel himself swell with pride, his stomach doing excited jumps as his body tingled with satisfaction. Although ambiguous, the words felt like tremendous praise coming from Sasuke, especially when they were uttered without a hint of condescension.

"Yeah," he responded, unintelligently.

A clap brought his attention back to Lee, beaming with obvious happiness at the two of them. Naruto cut off whatever he was planning to say by quickly jumping to his feet and letting out a large yawn, "Damn, that really wore me out! I have an early day tomorrow. I should get going."

He purposefully avoided taking in his friend's disappointed posture but he couldn't ignore the words, "Ah, I see. That is unfortunate; I was hoping to catch a late meal with you and Sasuke. It seems as if we have not talked in a while."

Damnit, so he noticed. Perhaps Lee was too polite to call him out any further than that. Feeling guiltier than before, Naruto tried to grin reassuringly, "I guess it has been a while… But my schedule has really been kicking my ass."

It wasn't entirely a lie, if one took into consideration the amount of time and effort it took to avoid someone.

"Maybe next time?" he offered.

"I will hold you to that, Naruto," Lee said before turning to Sasuke. "And what of you, Sasuke? Would you like to join me?"

Once again, Sasuke's gaze bounced between the two, no doubt picking up on Naruto's odd reluctance, "I have an hour, at the most."

Naruto grit his teeth. That son of a bitch, accepting Lee's invitation so easily. If Sasuke meant it as an insult then, damnit, he succeeded because Naruto felt insulted. Then again, the two were acquainted long before he met either of them, despite how odd they seemed as a pair.

But if Sasuke thought such a display would discourage Naruto, he was dead wrong.

* * *

Avoiding Lee was surprisingly easier than it should have been. A week later, he could hardly believe his luck that "next time" had yet to come. During the past week, he had alternately run into Neji or Sasuke and only once encountered them both at the same time. Neji explained Lee's absence as an out of town conference; Naruto considered it a blessing.

Feeling especially lucky due to the uneventful week, he entered the martial arts center with only one goal in mind: that night, he was taking Sasuke out for a drink. As he slipped through the doors into the fully matted room, he broke into a wide grin at the sight of the only other occupant in the room.

"Hey," he called in greeting, catching the man's attention. He walked up to his self-proclaimed rival and tossed his gym bag to the floor by the wall. Normally, he would take it to the back room, but he could barely contain the excitement over his newly conceived plan.

"Hey," he said again despite already having the other's attention. "I have a really great idea!" His grin didn't waver at the sight of Sasuke's raised eyebrow, clearly doubting the greatness of his idea.

"No, really, it's good. Let's make a bet – "

"I don't make bets."

Blocked before he even started! Unable to help himself, Naruto threw his hands up in the air in defeat, "Fuck, Sasuke! Do you ever do anything_?_ I mean, do you even eat? Or take shits?" Conveniently, he had forgotten the other night when Sasuke had admitted to partaking in at least one of those activities.

"I'm not interested in what you think."

"Uh, no shit, you're not. Honestly, I really don't care. I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Don't."

"Okay, you're seriously trying way too hard here. Don't force the asshole out; just let it come naturally. It should be easy for you."

Sasuke paused, glaring at Naruto for all he was worth, "Don't be stupid."

"_You're_ stupid."

Not taking the childish bait, Sasuke lapsed into silence again, much to Naruto's chagrin. Reigning in his irritation, he held up his hands in a calming gesture, "Just wait. Wait. This is not how I thought this would go. I just wanted to make a bet over something stupid."

"That's not surprising."

He took in a deep, calming breath before continuing, "Like I was saying, I just wanted to make a bet. If I win, you have to hang out with me for an hour later tonight. If you win…" Here he paused, unsure what to offer someone who wanted nothing to do with him.

"If I win," Sasuke began, ignoring Naruto's sudden grin at the thought he was actually contemplating the proposal. "You don't talk to me for a month." The grin faltered, but remained; he could've seen that coming from a mile away.

"A day."

"A week."

"Done. I won't talk to you for a week. Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the challenge. I bet…" And here, he had the chance to introduce his genius plan. "I can pin you down before the end of the night."

Sasuke actually scoffed, smirking at what he thought to be misguided confidence. At the response, Naruto swallowed a scathing retort; he would show him through his actions rather than words how wrong he was to underestimate him.

"In fact," he decided to raise the stakes. Sasuke would surely take the bait this time. "If I win, I get to decide when and where we go."

"Deal."

The second the word left Sasuke's mouth, Naruto let out a full-blown smirk. Having practiced a few more times with Sakura, he knew exactly how fool-proof her signature move was and had spent as often as he could perfecting it. He was confident at his execution at that point. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if he could pull such a move on Sasuke, but the fact he could use it against its "owner" served as a strong motivating factor.

For all his earlier derision, Sasuke approached him cautiously. While the confidence and arrogance was still there, with such high stakes – for him, anyway – there was no way he was going to jump in as he normally would. Naruto mirrored the cautious stance, figuring he may as well focus on strengthening his defense while he was at it.

They continued to circle one another, eyeing each other carefully. Naruto could feel the excitement jolting through his body, highly anticipating the upcoming match. Patient eyes took in Sasuke's form, watching for a tell-tale sign he was about to move. Whenever he threatened Sakura with her own move, she would unconsciously shift into a more cautious style, struggling to reign in her powerful and aggressive swipes.

Sasuke was much the same; like Naruto, his style was exceptionally aggressive – the difference being Sasuke had perfected his defense while Naruto left himself wide open. It was apparent he didn't normally hold back and this served as a benefit to Naruto. Having watched Sakura adopt an uncomfortable rhythm to prevent Naruto from taking the advantage, he found he was slowly able to pick up on the subtle shifts in his opponent's thoughts.

With confidence, he waited, never moving his gaze from Sasuke. All he had to do was wait; Sasuke would unknowingly open himself to an attack. Just like Sakura, his confidence would get in the way and he would make a mistake. All he had to do was wait.

Sasuke sprung into action, moving forward smoothly and quickly. Naruto smirked, letting his opponent set the pace. He blocked a punch aimed for his gut and then a kick meant to knock him to the floor. They parried and blocked, back and forth, with Naruto falling into a defensive stance. Normally, it would not have been so easy for him to block the moves, however, Sasuke was clearly holding back, apparently wary of the blond's calm confidence.

Naruto didn't have long to wait before he saw the opening of a lifetime. Throwing all caution to the wind, he dove in, countering Sasuke's jab with the move that had sent him flying to the floor more times than he could count.

Unable to withhold his glee, he let out an obnoxiously loud bark of laughter, staring down into Sasuke's widened eyes. He would never forget the look on the man's face right then – the disbelief, surprise, embarrassment and anger a truly intoxicating mix.

He settled comfortably on top of the man, using his weight to keep him down and gripping his wrists the same way Sakura had when she first used the move on him.

"I win!" He couldn't help but gloat.

Sasuke had yet to resist. Slowly the mixture of emotions faded until all that was left were narrowed eyes and a small frown.

"You've never used this move before," he observed.

"Nope," came the reply. Naruto was hesitant to let the man go, wanting to relish in his triumphant moment as long as possible. He could feel Sasuke pull slightly, testing the resistance in his grip. In response, he tightened his hold; he'd be damned if he let this end too soon.

"When did you learn it?"

"As if I'd tell you. I'm not about to give away all my secrets!" The moment was just getting better and better. Before Sasuke could respond, he hastily added, "And don't think I'm going to show you how to do it either."

His rival simply rolled his eyes, as if the thought of learning from Naruto was just that ridiculous. "I'm not interested in learning cheap moves."

"Cheap? Cheap? How was that cheap?" He cried, affronted. He unconsciously loosened his grip, making a grab for the man's shirt when his hands came free. He pulled him up by the collar to glare into his face. He felt insulted on Sakura's behalf, recalling her pride whenever she managed to pin him down. "Now you're just being a sore loser!"

"Hn."

Knowing he wouldn't be able to decipher the grunts, he slowly let go of his shirt, letting Sasuke catch himself before he fell back to the ground. He sat back on his haunches, then leaned forward to press a finger into the man's chest, reiterating his gloat from before, "I won."

"So we've established."

"And I'm hungry." Knowing he would have to get up eventually, he slowly rose to his feet, unfazed when Sasuke ignored his extended hand. Once again, he let the grin widen on his face, taking in his rival's stiff body language as he brushed imaginary dirt from his clothing. The man wasn't making eye contact.

"I hope you like ramen."

* * *

"So the deal was that _I_ wouldn't talk, not the other way around."

Sasuke was not making this easy. Since arriving at his favorite restaurant, Sasuke had not uttered a single word after placing his order. Despite a disparaging onceover of the location, he took a seat without much fuss. Naruto was at a loss; he had been sure, after his experience with Sakura, that the magic of Ichiraku could never fail.

"I have nothing to say."

Naruto almost choked on his noodles at the unexpected reply. He figured Sasuke would simply ignore his remarks and was pleased that he would bother to explain away his silence.

"That's true, I guess. But, Sasuke, you're really weird."

That got a reaction, his light tone forcing the man to look at him questioningly.

"I mean," he continued, pointing his chopsticks in a vague gesture towards the whole of Sasuke's figure. "You're the biggest asshole I've ever met, but it's like you go out of your way to be one. Even when I first ran into you, you wouldn't say sorry for ramming the door into my nose. But then you follow up after losing a stupid bet. I didn't think you would actually come."

"If I didn't come, you would have only bothered me more," Sasuke replied after a moment, ignoring everything else in Naruto's statement.

"It works out in my favor, actually. You know, the more you try to avoid me, the more I'm going to bug you."

"Why?"

He was actually taken aback by the candid question. Why indeed, but honestly – "Why not?"

One of the few expressions he had seen on Sasuke's face emerged once again, brow raised in bemusement. "And you think I'm strange."

"Well, yeah. I'm pretty sure you're a grade A psycho. That's why girls like you so much. They have a thing for good looking guys with no personality."

"Says the idiot who won't leave a psycho alone."

Naruto laughed, amused despite the arrogant smirk on the man's face, "You got me there."

At the sound of a phone buzzing, Sasuke reached into his pocket to silence the vibrations. He hadn't even bothered glancing at the screen to see who was calling. From anyone else, the action would have been flattering – someone's current company put before a phone call. Knowing Sasuke, it was obviously not flattery.

"You could've answered that," he said as his own phone began to vibrate. Not wanting to be rude but curious despite himself, he pulled out his own phone to demonstrate how exactly one should respond to a call. "I won't get offended."

He glanced down at the phone, tapping the buttons to open a text from Sakura – a simple "_good night!"_ followed by a series of hearts and smilies. He grinned at the silly message, quickly typing an equally silly response, followed by random faces. He slid the phone back into his pocket, meeting Sasuke's look with an even sillier grin. "See! Just like that! Besides, what if it had been important?"

Sasuke shook his head, "My employees know how to reach me if it were truly an emergency."

The blond almost felt bad for the guy, that that would be his first response. Not interested in what such a protocol may entail, he instead commented on the obvious misunderstanding, "I'm not talking about work. I mean, what if it was a personal emergency."

The response was met with a blank look. The silence stretched longer than he expected, exceeding the awkwardness from when they first sat down. Finally, Sasuke returned to the bowl of ramen sitting before him, "That's unlikely."

He didn't elaborate and Naruto didn't question him. The comment made him pause, reflecting on Sasuke's distant and aggressive behavior, his reluctance to admit he had friends. Even when he had run into him and Neji at the restaurant the other day, it had clearly been for business. Maybe Sasuke really didn't have friends – or anyone, for that matter – who were close enough to rely on him. If that were truly the case, they had more in common than he ever thought possible – no clear-cut sense of belonging.

He shrugged his shoulders so Sasuke knew he would let the subject go. He returned to his own meal then, taking another bite as he glance at the man from the corner of his eyes. Iruka's words from before came to mind then, and Naruto found himself growing more curious with every bit of information Sasuke slowly exposed.

"You know, a wise man once told me that every successful man has a story behind him. Do you have one?" Not sure how to introduce such a topic, the words sounded clumsy, holding none of the charm or charisma from when Iruka had uttered the same.

He tried to clarify the question, "I mean, you run your own company, right? The Uchiha Organization. But you're, what, in your twenties? Early thirties? Not to inflate your already enormous ego, but that _is_ pretty cool. How did you take over while you were so young?"

Sasuke had laid his chopsticks down in the middle of his rambling, hands clasped before him on the table. He wasn't meeting Naruto's look. If Naruto thought the previous silences were awkward, this one was by far the worst. It seemed the man was determined to show up each and every lull in conversation from before. When he finally turned to meet Naruto's questioning look, Naruto was taken aback at the fury, suspicion and confusion in the gaze.

"All this information is common knowledge. Why do you want to hear it from me?" He questioned with a scathing tone. Apparently, Naruto had unknowingly hitting a sensitive issue. Despite the anger in the man's stiff posture, the blond actually snorted.

"Are you kidding me? I have better things to do than dig around into your history." And that was actually true; even if he wanted to, with all his recent commitments, he hardly had the time to stalk his rival online. "Besides, why would I bother when I can just ask you myself?"

The carefree question had an immediate reaction: Sasuke's anger dissipated completely, melting away into honest surprise. His eyes widened from their narrowed glare and he met Naruto's open look with a questioning one of his own. After a moment, he scoffed, a hint of a smirk on his face as he shook his head at Naruto's stupidity, "Figures you'd be too lazy."

Naruto frowned, slamming his hand onto the table in his anger, ignoring the look from the restaurant owner from down the bar, "How am I lazy if I don't want to stalk you?"

"I don't run the Uchiha Organization; the company is mine by name only. I serve as a figurehead but I only manage the joint ventures between the organization and its partners. I do, however, occasionally sit in on the advisory board. All this is according to my parent's will."

"Wow, seriously?" he responded, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information. "So how does that work? Can you ask your parents to give you their business?"

Too confused by the sudden dumbfounded look on Sasuke's face, he was unable to fully appreciate the reaction, further confused when the man suddenly dropped his face into a waiting hand.

"You really are an idiot."

"Hey! Shut up, it was a serious question!"

"I said: everything was according to my parent's will," he said, placing a stronger than necessary emphasis on the last word. When comprehension failed to dawn on Naruto's face, he sighed. "Naruto, my parent's are dead. I can't ask them for ownership, I have to earn it."

"Oh." A moment passed. Comprehension dawned. "Oh! Shit, I'm sorry! I didn't realize! Fuck, I really didn't mean to bring that up. Wow, I had no idea. Just, wow, I'm so sorry." Suddenly, he could understand Sasuke's furious reaction when he insulted his mother. It seemed like years ago and he had apologized, but he felt like the biggest ass in the world.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, taking Naruto's stupidity with surprising grace. "You can't help being an idiot."

And suddenly, he wasn't quite feeling like an ass anymore. "Fuck, you're such an asshole. I said I was sorry! I don't have to insult me."

"I'm not insulting you. I'm stating a fact."

"Why you – " he made a grab for Sasuke's collar, bringing his unresisting, smirking form close enough that they were nose to nose. His obvious intention was interrupted by a firm grip on his clenched fists, and he followed the appendage to meet the restaurant owner's pleading expression.

"Naruto, please, it's late and he is obviously just teasing you."

Unable to glare at the kind, old man, Naruto huffed in annoyance, roughly shoving Sasuke away from him. The man had the nerve to appear unruffled at the rough man-handling. "Well, tell him it's not funny."

The old man did just that, turning to request that Sasuke be polite to his favorite customer. Surprisingly, Sasuke simply bowed in understanding, accepting the request without argument. That he wouldn't antagonize the man placated Naruto's ire; anyone who respected Ichiraku couldn't be all that bad.

* * *

"Ah," he let out a content groan, raising his arms behind his head as he bent as far back as could to stretch his muscles. "That was fucking delicious, wasn't it?"

He turned to his companion, who was similarly relishing in the aftermath of their stay at the restaurant. After the owner had interfered, tensions had died down and the two had been able to resume a relatively peaceful if slightly aggressive conversation over several more bowls of ramen – most of which had been consumed by Naruto.

"It wasn't too bad."

He chuckled at the response, considering it a rave review.

"We should do this again sometime," he said to a silent Sasuke, unperturbed by the lack of a response. Things had gone better than he could ever have expected. Surprisingly, Sasuke was okay company – even if he picked apart every one of Naruto's actions and words. It was practically an endurance test; Naruto had to exercise amazing restraint to keep from punching the man whenever he made a particularly offensive jibe.

"Well, I'm heading that way," the words were accompanied by a jerking motion from his hand, indicating the direction he needed to walk. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

Giving a small wave, he started walking away only to stop mid-step as a thought occurred to him. He turned around to eye Sasuke's back, "Hey!"

Wonder of wonders, the man stopped, looking over his shoulder.

"What's your number?"

Sasuke turned around and continued walking away, at a pace that seemed faster than before. Fully expecting the reaction, Naruto simply followed him. "Hey! I'm serious. Give me your number."

"No," the refusal was coupled with an even quicker pace.

Naruto easily matched the speed. "Come on! I'm not going to sell it."

"That's not a very convincing argument."

"Fine, then I'll give you mine."

"I don't want it."

"You do. Just send me a text so I have your number."

"No."

"I'm not going to stop bothering you for it. We can make another bet if you want."

"I'm not interested."

"So you've said before. I'll follow you all the way home unless you give it to me now."

"I thought you were above stalking."

"Actually, you didn't," Naruto grinned in response, proud of his quick comeback. Sasuke hadn't given him the benefit of the doubt.

There was a tense moment in which he was sure Sasuke would deck him in the face. However, he eventually let out a small sigh, digging out his phone. He glanced expectantly at the persistent blond, who took his cue to quote back his number. A moment later he felt his phone buzz, and he pulled it out to see a call from an unknown number. He grinned, giving Sasuke a thumbs up.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Good night, Naruto."

Naruto let him go at the dismissal, grinning at the man's back until he disappeared around the corner.

Really, the man wouldn't know what hit him.

**TBC**


End file.
